Starlink asked by some governments to block Russian news, Elon Musk says

SpaceX's chief says he is "a free speech absolutist", adding that his Starlink satellite broadband service will not censor anyone "unless at “gunpoint."

FILE PHOTO - SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 13, 2019 (photo credit: REUTERS/MIKE BLAKE/FILE PICTURE)
FILE PHOTO - SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 13, 2019
(photo credit: REUTERS/MIKE BLAKE/FILE PICTURE)

SpaceX chief Elon Musk said on Saturday that its Starlink satellite broadband service 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," he said in a tweet.

"Slight delays" expected in Starship & Starlink V2

Musk also said that SpaceX was reprioritized to cyber defense & overcoming signal jamming, will cause slight delays in Starship & Starlink V2.

Earlier this week, the SpaceX chief warned that there is a high chance that its Starlink could be "targeted" in Ukraine, which Russian invaded last week.

Musk said last week that the company's satellite broadband service is available in Ukraine and SpaceX is sending more terminals to the country, whose internet has been disrupted due to the Russian invasion.

 NASA's DART Mission spacecraft is seen launching on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in its mission to crash into an asteroid. (credit: NASA HQ PHOTO/FLICKR)
NASA's DART Mission spacecraft is seen launching on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in its mission to crash into an asteroid. (credit: NASA HQ PHOTO/FLICKR)

Last November, four astronauts, three from NASA and one from the European Space Agency, arrived at the International Space Station and docked their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule with the orbiting laboratory to begin a six-month science mission.