Presidents Have Repeatedly Asked Musk to Switch Starlink On or Off for Entire Countries
Turning the service on can keep allies and protesters online, while turning it off can cut militias off from communicating.
Reuters World News · US Starlink requests, Alaska's Senate race and Serbia's electionsThe American government does not own the satellite internet network that has become one of its most useful foreign policy tools. That network, Starlink, is a commercial service built and run by SpaceX, the rocket company led by Elon Musk. It beams internet from orbit, so people can get online even when local phone networks are down, censored, or destroyed.
Because it is privately controlled, Washington has to ask when it wants coverage changed for an entire country. According to six former senior American officials, both recent White Houses did so repeatedly.
Turning the service on is a way to connect friendly forces or dissidents. Under former President Joe Biden, the United States requested that SpaceX activate coverage over Ukraine and over Iran. After American-Israeli bombing campaigns during 2025 and 2026, Trump's White House made a similar appeal for Iran, seeking to keep opponents of Tehran's government able to organize online.
Turning it off works in reverse, as a way to silence an enemy. Under Biden, officials said, the United States urged SpaceX to cut service in a bid to deny Tehran-aligned fighters in Yemen and Lebanon a means to coordinate.
That history came before a recent slowdown imposed on Ukraine's armed forces users of the network. Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of SpaceX, wrote earlier in the week that "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military, and ultimately, the President." Asked about Starlink on Friday, Trump said that if there is a problem, he will handle it directly. The company offered no reply when asked for comment.
The result is an unusual arrangement. Decisions that can affect wars and protests hinge on requests to a private owner, and then on whether that owner flips the switch.
Questions people ask
Can Elon Musk or SpaceX say no to a White House request?
Yes, SpaceX is a private company and Starlink is its property, so a request is not automatically an order. In practice, the government has leverage because SpaceX holds large Pentagon and NASA contracts and operates under federal licenses, and Musk himself has said usage limits are ultimately decided by the military and the president.
How can Starlink be turned on or off for just one country?
Starlink knows the approximate location of each dish and phone connection in order to aim service from its satellites. SpaceX can therefore authorize or block service inside a geographic area, much as streaming services block shows by country, without shutting down the global network.
Why would protesters need Starlink if they already have phones?
Governments can shut down local cell networks, cut undersea internet cables, or filter websites during unrest. A satellite link from space bypasses those local choke points, as long as the user has a Starlink dish or a phone that can connect and SpaceX has enabled service overhead.