The Starlink satellite internet service, which is operated by Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX, has been a digital lifeline in Ukraine since the early days of the war against invading Russian troops. Starlink is used in most of Ukraine for civilians and soldiers in areas where digital infrastructure has been destroyed. Walter Isaacson, in his upcoming biography, “Elon Musk,” said the billionaire had ordered the deactivation of Starlink satellite service near the coast of Crimea last September to stop a Ukrainian attack on Russian ships. Isaacson said Musk had conversations with a Russian official that led him to worry that an attack on Crimea could spiral into a nuclear conflict.
Musk responded on his social media platform, saying he hadn’t disabled the service. However, he refused to comply with an emergency request from Ukrainian officials to enable Starlink connections to Sevastopol on the illegally occupied Crimean Peninsula. Musk’s tweet was an acknowledgment that he had made the decision to prevent a Ukrainian attack. “The obvious intent [of the Ukrainians] was to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor,” he wrote on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. “If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.”
That tweet drew an angry response from Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. Musk’s “interference,” he said, had allowed Russia’s naval fleet to continue firing cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities. “As a result, civilians, children are being killed. This is the price of a cocktail of ignorance and big ego,” Podolyak wrote on X.
Musk’s nearly total control that he wields over Internet connectivity in the war zone has prompted concern about his influence. Musk also reportedly spoke directly with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine.
The Logan Act, enacted in 1799, is a United States federal law that criminalizes negotiation by unauthorized American citizens with foreign governments having a dispute with the United States. The intent behind the Act was to prevent unauthorized negotiations from undermining the government’s position. That is what Musk is doing. The Logan Act has only been used in two criminal prosecutions over the past 224 years. However, the Logan Act is still on the books, and the principle behind it is important: we don’t want private citizens negotiating with foreign countries having a dispute with the United States. Russia certainly has a dispute with the United States concerning the war in Ukraine.
The US attorney general should write to Elon Musk and request that he provide Ukraine with Starlink service throughout the Ukraine, including on land illegally seized by the Russians. Attorney General Merrick Garland could threaten prosecution if Musk doesn’t comply. Or Garland could threaten to seize Starlink through the government’s power of eminent domain.
Starlink satellites are registered in the United States. Starlink and its owner Space Exploration Technologies Corporation are California corporations. Because Starlink is a US entity, it is subject to US law. A US company will be under the jurisdiction of the federal courts and the courts of the state in which the company is incorporated. That includes its property, wherever located, even satellites in space.
“There’s abundant precedent for U.S. government seizure of critical infrastructure, including satellites, during wars or national emergencies,” wrote David Frum. “Of course, reasonable compensation must be paid, per the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution.” Frum has a law degree from Harvard and writes for The Atlantic magazine.
Musk is becoming more powerful than many nations. His Starlink system spans the globe. He has launched more rockets that most countries. We should not allow a private citizen to interfere with US interests around the world, including Ukraine, no matter how wealthy he is.
Joel Joseph is an attorney and chairman of the Made in the USA Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting American-made products. Email joeldjoseph@gmail.com. Phone 310 MADE-USA
From The Progressive Populist, November 1, 2023
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