Iran’s internet crackdown puts Musk’s Starlink to a major test

Key Highlights

• military forces and intelligence agencies that use Starlink and its military-grade variant Starshield, as well as China, whose own nascent satellite internet constellations are set to rival Starlink in the coming years.
• With SpaceX weighing a public listing this year, the situation in Iran also represents a high-profile showcase for Starlink to investors. More from Tech After 15,000 layoffs, Microsoft cuts news and library access amid shift to AI learning OpenAI to test ad trials in ChatGPT, premium users to remain ad-free“We’re in this weird early part of the history of space-delivered communications where SpaceX is the only true provider at this scale,” said John Plumb, the former Pentagon space policy chief under President Joe Biden.“And these repressive regimes think they can still turn off communications, but I think the day is coming where that’s just not possible,” he said. Victoria Samson, chief director of space security and stability at the think tank Secure World Foundation, said Russia, which has deployed an array of technologies to counter Starlink in Ukraine, might be keen to examine the effectiveness of Iran’s Starlink interference. Quick ReadsView AllMusk seeks up to $134 bn from OpenAI, Microsoft over alleged gains from his early contributionsFrom ChatGPT to Google MedGamma: AI turns to health in 2026, but doctors warn of hidden risk“I think a lot of actors are watching how Starlink fares here,” she said. Protesters use Starlink to send crackdown videos Thousands of people protesting Iran’s clerical rule are reported to have been killed in the past week, while Tehran’s order to restrict communications makes it difficult to discern the full extent of its violent crackdown on dissent. Starlink, which is harder for Iran to tamper with than cable and cellphone tower networks, has become crucial for documenting events on the ground. Raha Bahreini, an Iran researcher at Amnesty International, said they had verified dozens of videos from Iran, including footage of protesters killed or injured by Iranian forces, and believe that almost all of them came from people who had access to Starlink.
• She added, however, that the ongoing communications restrictions have impeded human rights organizations’ communications with people in Iran in efforts to assess the scale of the violence. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADStarlink is banned in Iran, yet tens of thousands of terminals may have been smuggled into the country, although it remains unclear how many are in use, according to Holistic Resilience, a U. S.
• nonprofit that has hel.