Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk said Saturday that some governments have asked SpaceX to use its Starlink terminals to censor Russian news sources and media outlets. Major tech and media platforms, including Apple (AAPL), Meta (FB), Google (GOOG), and Microsoft (MSFT) have moved to ban Russian state-run media organizations in light of Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
In a tweet he sent out early Saturday, Musk declared his defiant stance on the censorship issue and explained why it is so important for SpaceX not to comply with such requests – “unless at gunpoint.”
“Starlink has been told by some governments (not Ukraine) to block Russian news sources,” he tweeted.
“We will not do so unless at gunpoint,” Musk added. “Sorry to be a free speech absolutist.”
Starlink has been told by some governments (not Ukraine) to block Russian news sources. We will not do so unless at gunpoint.
Sorry to be a free speech absolutist.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2022
Musk then responded to a commenter challenging the premise of his statement saying: “All news sources are partially propaganda, some more than others.”
All news sources are partially propaganda, some more than others
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2022
The SpaceX and Tesla CEO earlier this week warned Starlink users that the Russian military will likely target them during its escalating invasion of Ukraine, an invasion launched by Moscow on February 24.
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