Elon Musk's promise of free internet in Venezuela draws concern: Video
Elon Musk's company Starlink has announced that it will provide free satellite coverage across Venezuela at least until February 3rd.
The announcement has been met with scepticism by users online, with some claiming the move "isn't charity, its strategic."
In the wake of the U.S. operation to seize Maduro, parts of Venezuela lost power. Starlink coverage will allow Venezuelans to contact loved ones, even if future conflict causes more outages. It will also allow citizens to bypass government blackouts, as it has in places like Iran, where Starlink use is criminalised.
Starlink isn't currently available in Venezuela — the company has previously listed connectivity in Venezuela as 'coming soon'—and blanket coverage is useless if users don't have the hardware needed.
As Starlink moves to rapidly roll out its coverage across the country, some worry that Starlink's adoption in Venezuela will give the US and Musk too much power, allowing them to spy on Venezuelan citizens or cut their internet off on a whim.
On Friday, January 2, a day before the U.S. operation in Venezuela, Chinese diplomats told the UN at a Security Council event that the rapid expansion of Musk's Starlink network poses "pronounced safety and security" concerns globally.
“With the rapid expansion of commercial space activities, the unchecked proliferation of commercial satellite constellations by a certain country, in the absence of effective regulation, has given rise to pronounced safety and security challenges,” a Beijing representative said, calling on the UN to better enforce regulations.
The UN Security Council is meeting today (January 6th) to discuss the legality of the U.S. operation to seize President Maduro. It is currently unclear whether Starlink's offer of free broadband will also be a topic of discussion.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
