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Musk’s Starlink Cracks Down on Growing Black Market
Users who access the satellite internet service in Sudan, Zimbabwe and South Africa, where it hasn’t been authorized, receive notice they will be disconnected
By
Nicholas Bariyo
in Kampala, Uganda,
Gabriele Steinhauser
and
Alexandra Wexler
in Johannesburg and
Micah Maidenberg
in Washington
Updated April 16, 2024 3:12 pm ET
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A Starlink device on a roof in South Africa; South Africa’s telecommunications regulator has said that use of Starlink is illegal there.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has begun a crackdown on users who are connecting to its Starlink high-speed internet service from countries where it hasn’t been authorized—taking steps to close an expanding black market for the company’s satellite kits highlighted by a recent Wall Street Journal investigation.
Starlink customers in Sudan, Zimbabwe and South Africa have received email notifications from the company in recent days, warning that their access to the service would be terminated by the end of the month. The emails, viewed by the Journal, noted that using Starlink in areas where it hasn’t been approved by local regulators was against the company’s terms of service.
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