[grecy]

> Why do they give a damn if people are subscribing in the US and using their product in Africa?

A government gets to decide what their citizens can have.

Think about it the other way around.

Let's say there is a brand new vehicle for sale in China with no airbags, no abs, no emissions controls of any kind, etc.

People in the US are absolutely NOT allowed to purchase that because the government of the US have decided it goes against the public interest (safety, pollution, etc.).

Just because one country thinks people should be able to conceal carry handguns, that doesn't mean other countries have to allow it.

[struant]

Then it is up to the local government to confiscate their starlink hardware. There is no reason for starlink to respect every single legal jurisdiction's rules. They only need to deal with wherever they connect to ISPs.

[grecy]

You and I both know that is not how laws are enforced by any country anywhere in the world.

[struant]

What is an African country going to do about enforcing anything to do with starlink other than confiscate hardware within their borders? Whine to the UN that someone is competing with their local telecom?

[grecy]

Why do you belittle African countries like that?

Do Africans deserve less enforcement of things their government has not approved than people in other parts of the world?

Would you be OK if some country started making high-current electrical devices that were not approved and then just forcefully sold them in your country, even though regulations prohibited it?

[struant]

I am not belittling them. Just recognizing the fact they have no power to enforce anything on starlink.

It's not about what they "deserve". It is about what is physically possible.

I would love it if pirate internet via satellite that cannot be controlled by any government became a common thing in the US (and everywhere in the world). Unfortunately the US does have the enforcement capability to tell starlink what to do.

[grecy]

> Just recognizing the fact they have no power to enforce anything on starlink.

What are you talking about?

They can make the possession of satellite equipment a crime (already is in quite a few countries), They can fine Starlink for allowing service when it has not been approved, they can ban starlink in the future.

They can take many approaches.

[inemesitaffia]

Iran vs Norway in re starlink at the ITU