This is probably the biggest threat ever to autocratic governments worldwide - government independent communication. Whereas conventional broadband and cell requires government sanction (to build towers, control frequency bands, build infrastructure, censor messages) and conventional communication requires physical meeting and distribution, Starlink breaks their grip hold. If people everywhere have unrestricted access to a market driven www without being limited by autocratic governments and dictators, communication and rallying together will proceed unimpeded. Starlink should be setup with absolute transparency.
No, it doesn't. Starlink won't be selling ground stations into countries that don't authorize it. This situation has already played out with satphones in China, etc.
I guess it depends just how motivated and technologically advanced said autocratic nation was. If sufficiently so, they could probably interfere with the operation of the satellites somehow, or just threaten to shoot them down, if they don't "come into compliance".
Conversely, it could be used as an entirely uncontrollable tool to spread dissent and propaganda. The same issue has played out on the current internet.
> > This is probably the biggest threat ever to autocratic governments worldwide - government independent communication.
> Conversely, it could be used as an entirely uncontrollable tool to spread dissent and propaganda. The same issue has played out on the current internet.
No conversely about it. Who wants to control dissent and propaganda? The Chinese government. The Russian government. The US government, with the cooperation of Google, Facebook, et al. Not all dissent is good. Some of it will be downright bad. Some of it will be immensely valuable, however. The truth will out, so long as no one is empowered to decide "the truth" on behalf of everyone.
If the government and big corporations can lock out and stamp out everyone it deems to be "bad people" they can do it to anyone. No one should have that power, no matter how hard they promise they'll follow a motto like, "Don't be evil."
I wish. The constellation is launched and managed from one of the most power-hungry and corrupt unregulated nations that exists, so the potential for bad is just as high as the potential for good.
