Last month the “Better Than Nothing Beta” was launched by Starlink and since then The Independent has uncovered a rather bizarre clause in Starlink’s Terms of Service.
The clause addresses the matter of which laws will be in play while travelling through the cosmos.
Before we go further we should point out that the law and space are not new topics of discussion. In fact, the United Nations has a committee that debates how space should be used among member states.
Established in 1959, the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) governs the exploration and use of space “for the benefit of all humanity: for peace, security and development”.
Shifting back to Starlink, the firm reportedly says that Starlink services provided to the Earth or Moon will be governed by laws in the State of California.
Once we are beyond the Moon however, things aren’t as cut and dry.
“For services provided on Mars, or in transit to Mars via Starship or other colonisation spacecraft, the parties recognise Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities,” reports The Independent.
“Accordingly, disputes will be settled through self-governing principles, established in good faith, at the time of Martian settlement.”
Now this is a peculiar situation because Starlink and SpaceX are private firms and so might not have to adhere to what folks such as COPUOS might have to say about the above.
And that’s a bit of a quandry that might need addressing before folks like SpaceX send humanity to another planet.
For the most part, Starlink is right, Mars will have to be self governing. As much as we’d love to assume all humans can be trusted, COVID-19 has shown us that this trust would be misplaced.
So then, perhaps being a self-governing society would work.
It’s a rather interesting debate that we hope Starlink and SpaceX weren’t trying to avoid having by squirreling away the above clause in its Terms of Service.
With all of this in mind, we are hoping that the team heading to Mars is diverse and that all of those people will have a say in the laws.
[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]
