Starlink isn't a monopoly. Ukraine could have guided their munitions with Iridium or another satellite Internet system.
Don't forget GLONASS. 😉 On Thu Sep 14, 2023, 03:10 AM GMT, William Herrin <mailto:bill@herrin.us> wrote:
On Wed, Sep 13, 2023 at 5:47 PM Michael Thomas <mike@mtcc.com> wrote:
Doesn't this bump up against common carrier protections?
Hi Michael,
Internet providers aren't common carriers. If they were, it'd be unlawful to stop your customers from sending email spam that was merely offensive rather than illegal. It's also why Internet providers aren't required to follow network neutrality. Internet providers gain their immunity through section 230 and the DMCA instead.
Common carrier status typically applies to shipping companies and basic telephone service. Part of the mess with unwanted phone calls is that the caller has to break the law (e.g. by calling a number on the do-not-call list) before the phone company is allowed to act against them.
I sure don't want my utilities weaponizing their monopoly status to the whims of any random narcissist billionaire.
Starlink isn't a monopoly. Ukraine could have guided their munitions with Iridium or another satellite Internet system.
That said, volunteering services to the military of a nation at war and then pulling the rug out from under them is so classless, one wonders if Musk isn't trying to build a communist utopia.
Regards, Bill Herrin
-- William Herrin bill@herrin.us https://bill.herrin.us/