Starlink satellite communication terminals, which are developed by Elon Musk's company SpaceX, can be bought on black markets around the world.
Starlink is sold on the black market
A Bloomberg investigation says Starlink's efficiency makes the satellite Internet service a target for black market trading worldwide.
The publication notes that "Starlink's availability almost anywhere on Earth" means that Elon Musk's satellite service extends to countries where he does not have consent to operate, including territories ruled by repressive regimes.
Bloomberg found numerous examples of illegal trading of Starlink sets and their activation.
In particular, Starlink is used in Yemen, where a ten-year civil war continues, for business and personal communication.
Many are willing to defy rival rival factions, including the Houthi rebels, to secure terminals for business and personal communications and avoid the slow, often censored Internet service currently available.
In Sudan, where the civil war has been going on for a year, the usual Internet has been down for several months. Rapid Response Force soldiers opposing the Sudanese army use Starlink for their logistics.
Starlink kits are sold in Venezuela, where individuals and entities have been subject to US sanctions for nearly a decade.
Starlink in the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine
After the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, SpaceX provided Kyiv with Starlink, and since then, it has become crucial to Ukraine's communications infrastructure.
Later, the US Department of Defense agreed with Starlink to supply their equipment to Ukraine, but the terms of the agreement were not made public.
However, in February of this year, Ukraine said Russia was deploying Starlink in its military effort, while posts on X, Musk's social network, showed Russian soldiers unpacking satellite kits.
SpaceX must prevent Russia from using Starlink in the occupied part of Ukraine, as each individual terminal can be identified. More accountability is needed: to countries, to companies, to shareholders, said the director of the Montreal company NorthStar Earth & Space Inc. Candace Johnson.
President Joe Biden's administration may tighten export controls that apply to Starlink to keep it out of the hands of US adversaries, according to a former US government official.
