'Sorry to be a free speech absolutist': Elon Musk won't block Russian news sources from Starlink


SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Saturday that he would not ban Russian news sources from his Starlink satellite network, Business Insider reported.
"Starlink has been told by some governments (not Ukraine) to block Russian news sources. We will not do so unless at gunpoint," Musk wrote on Twitter. "Sorry to be a free speech absolutist," he added.
Digital communications have become a major battleground in the war between Russia and Ukraine. BBC, CNN, and Bloomberg News have all curtailed their journalistic operations in Russia after President Vladimir Putin signed a law that made spreading "fake" news about the war punishable by 15 years in prison.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Russian government blocked Facebook after the social network fact checked reports from Russian state media and has also restricted access to BBC and Voice of America, according to Reuters. Google has suspended all ad sales in Russia.
Despite his refusal to prevent Russian propaganda from being carried on his satellites, Musk has also entered the communications fray on the side of Ukraine. Space.com reports that Musk "sent Starlink terminals to Ukraine at the request of a government official after internet service was disrupted across the country by the Russian invasion."
Musk said Friday that Russian forces were attempting to jam these terminals but that a new software update had resolved the problem.
Also on Friday, Musk tweeted "Hold Strong Ukraine," along with several Ukrainian flag emojis, and expressed his "sympathies to the great people of Russia, who do not want this."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
'The program long ago ceased to be temporary help'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Amazon launches 1st Kuiper internet satellites
Speed Read The battle of billionaires continues in space
-
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodes
Speed Read Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of the Spectrum orbital rocket, which crashed after takeoff
-
Musk vs. Altman: The fight over OpenAI
Feature Elon Musk has launched a $97.4 billion takeover bid for OpenAI
-
Apple pledges $500B in US spending over 4 years
Speed Read This is a win for Trump, who has pushed to move manufacturing back to the US
-
Microsoft unveils quantum computing breakthrough
Speed Read Researchers say this advance could lead to faster and more powerful computers
-
Elon Musk's DOGE website has gotten off to a bad start
In the Spotlight The site was reportedly able to be edited by anyone when it first came online
-
What Trump's 'tech bros' want
The Explainer Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos had 'prime seats' at the president's inauguration. What are they looking to gain from Trump 2.0?
-
TikTok's fate uncertain as weekend deadline looms
Speed Read The popular app is set to be banned in the U.S. starting Sunday