Hassan Presses SpaceX on Curbing Southeast Asia Scams Using Starlink
Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., urged SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Monday to block transnational criminal groups’ access to the company’s Starlink satellite broadband service in a bid to cut it off as a fraud vector. She noted a recent Wired report about scam operations in Myanmar, Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia that used Starlink as their ISP. SpaceX didn’t immediately comment.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
“While SpaceX has stated that it investigates and deactivates Starlink devices in various contexts, it seemingly has not publicly acknowledged the use of Starlink for scams originating in Southeast Asia -- or publicly discussed actions the company has taken in response,” Hassan said in a letter to Musk. “Scam networks in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, however, have apparently continued to use Starlink despite service rules permitting SpaceX to terminate access for fraudulent activity.” She noted a “United Nations report has confirmed that SpaceX can restrict access to Starlink through ‘geofencing,’ making the service unavailable in specific countries or locations, but it is unclear whether the company has done so in Southeast Asia.”
Hassan pressed Musk to respond to questions by Aug. 18 on “the scope of Starlink’s role in transnational fraud and efforts to prevent related criminal misuse of its devices.” In part, she asked about SpaceX’s “policies and procedures for investigating, deactivating, or restricting Starlink devices” and about what “guardrails [exist] to prevent scam networks in Southeast Asia from acquiring -- directly or indirectly -- Starlink devices.” Hassan also asked what complaints SpaceX has “received concerning Starlink use in scam networks in Southeast Asia.”