This Wired article once again perpetuates the inaccuracy that we turned off Starlink for Ukraine when they wanted to launch an attack on the Russian fleet.

Starlink was barred from turning on satellite beams in Crimea at the time, because doing so would violate US sanctions against Russia!

We received an unexpected request in the middle of the night to activate Starlink in Crimea in a matter of a few hours from the Ukraine government, but received no request or permission to override sanctions from the US government. Had we done as Ukraine asked, it would have been a felony violation of US law.

We also make it clear in our terms of use that Starlink is a commercial system, not a military system. Use of Starlink for communications, including military communications, is fine, just like the military uses the Internet in general, but if we deliberately engage in explicit acts of war, then we are making Starlink a military system and other countries have every right to shoot down our satellites.

My "Wired" story. I went dumpster-diving at the state capitol and found a batch of memos showing the backroom deals cut on the CDA to set up the "safe harbor" exception. When I contacted "Wired", I made the mistake of starting the email with "Hey, guys!" I received a reply that began, "First of all, you should know that women work for this magazine too..." and there followed two paragraphs calling me a "bigot" who thinks like a "neanderthal" and who needs to be "re-educated".

That was 1995 and they were stupidly woke even back then, and I never bought a single issue afterwards.

"We also make it clear in our terms of use that Starlink is a commercial system, not a military system."

Elon Musk partially hands over Starlink control to the Pentagon

Published 16 September 2023

Elon Musk has transferred part of the control of his Starlink satellite system to US authorities. The decision, which comes in light of rising geopolitical tensions, means that the Pentagon will have control over the part of Starlink’s capabilities used by Ukraine.

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has decided to partially hand over control of his Starlink satellite system to the US authorities. This follows Musk’s expressed concerns about the risk of an escalation to nuclear war and its potential consequences, BNN reports.

The Pentagon will gain control of the part of Starlink intended for use by and in Ukraine. This decision means that Musk is relieved of all responsibility for the limits and rules of use of the system.

Earlier, Musk had declared that he was not activating Starlink in the Crimean region for Ukraine’s armed forces. This was in line with a previous agreement that stipulated that Starlink would not be used for attacks on civilian infrastructure.

https://nordictimes.com/world/elon-musk-partially-hands-over-starlink-control-to-the-pentagon/

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.