A group of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites passing over Uruguay in 2021. AFP via Getty Images Ukrainian officials have praised Starlink for its service, claiming it has become a key tool for civilians and military officials alike during the Russia-Ukraine War. But some have raised concerns about Starlink’s ability to consolidate power by becoming the sole private firm offering internet service in areas of conflict and war. Musk said in 2023 he’d denied a Ukrainian government request to newly provide Starlink access “all the way to Sevastopol” because he didn’t want to make SpaceX “explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.” A US Senate committee has probed issues concerning a single private citizen’s ability to have that much impact over a foreign conflict. Starlink has also been used in nations like Iran to skirt around government-imposed censorship. As the service has emerged as a dominant satellite broadband provider, China has been rushing to catch up with alternatives like Shanghai-based Qianfan, also known as SpaceSail, and Beijing’s state-owned space program – which have hurried to launch similar low-orbit satellites. Filed under