- Lawmakers are scrutinizing claims that SpaceX’s Starlink service is being used in Russia.
- House Democrats questioned how the company was preventing the use of Starlink in the country.
- Elon Musk has consistently denied accusations that Russia is using Starlink.
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House Democrats are probing Elon Musk’s SpaceX over accusations that Starlink is being used in Russia.
Robert Garcia and Jamie Raskin also sent a letter to Musk’s company demanding transparency over any potential purchases or usage of the satellite internet system in Russia.
In a statement, the congressmen wrote: “Starlink is an invaluable resource for Ukrainians in their fight against Russia’s brutal and illegitimate invasion.”
The congressmen cited Ukraine’s claims that there was “systemic” use of Starlink terminals in Russia. Musk has said that to the best of SpaceX’s knowledge, “no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia.”
Garcia and Raskin said in the letter that the reports that Russia may be obtaining and using the technology to coordinate attacks against Ukraine were “alarming” and “potentially in violation of US sanctions and export controls.”
“We are concerned that you do not have appropriate guardrails and policies in place to ensure your technology is neither acquired nor used illegally by Russia,” they wrote.
Elon Musk has consistently denied that Russians are using Starlink.
Representatives for SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.
Ukraine recently claimed it was working with SpaceX to stop Russia from using Starlink terminals amid the conflict.
In an interview with the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne, a Ukrainian minister said his officials had offered SpaceX a solution for blocking Russia.
“We found an algorithm and proposed it to SpaceX, and we are now communicating with them to ensure that such cases do not occur,” Mykhailo Fedorov, the country’s minister for digital transformation, said.
