Brazil strike involves Musk’s star-striped links to curb criminal uses in the Amazon rainforest
Brasilia, Brazil (AP) – Brazil’s federal prosecutor’s office announced Friday that it had reached a deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink to curb its use of its services in Amazon’s illegal mining and other criminal activities.
Starlink’s lightweight high-speed internet system has spread rapidly on Amazon, a region that has struggled with slow and unreliable connectivity for decades. However, the service is also adopted by criminal organizations that use it to coordinate logistics, make payments and receive alerts about police attacks.
This is the first deal of its kind, aiming to curb years of pressure from Brazilian authorities.
Starlink, a division of Musk’s SpaceX, will require residence identity and residence certificates for all new users in the Amazon region of Brazil starting in January. The company will also provide user registration and geolocation data for the Brazilian authorities to the Internet units under investigation.
If the terminal is confirmed to be used for illegal activities, Starlink has promised to block the service. This transaction has been two years and can be renewed.
Illegal gold mining has polluted hundreds of miles of Amazon rivers with mercury and destroyed traditional life in several indigenous tribes, including Yanomami. Starlink first arrived in the region in 2022, enabling criminal groups to manage mining operations in remote areas where logistics is complex and equipment and fuel must be transported by small aircraft or ships.
“The use of satellite internet has changed the logistics of illegal mining. This new reality requires proportional legal response. Under the agreement, connectivity in remote areas has also become a tool for environmental responsibility and respect for sovereignty.”
Illegal miners and lumberjacks have been evading some form of communication from law enforcement, mainly through broadcasts. Starlink has significantly enhanced the capabilities of Brazilian environmental agencies’ Hugo loss, operations coordinator, with its fast and mobile internet, told the Associated Press in a telephone interview.
“They have been able to transmit the location of the law enforcement team in real time, allowing them to anticipate our arrival, which seriously undermines the security of our personnel and undermines the effectiveness of operations.” “In mining areas, especially in Aboriginal land and protected areas, signal reduction is essential because internet access to these locations is for criminal purposes only.”
Jair Schmitt, the agency’s environmental protection director, said stricter regulations are also needed on the sale and use of such equipment.
AP emailed SpaceX Vice President of Communications James Gleeson and questioned the deal, but received no immediate response.
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