Customs and Border Protection is exploring use of Elon Musk’s Starlink

Customs and Border Protection has issued internal paperwork to authorize an evaluation of Starlink, the satellite internet service provided by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, according to documents identified by FedScoop and a spokesperson for the agency. 

CBP has created a privacy threshold analysis — an internal document used to analyze potential privacy risks associated with a new technology and whether a privacy impact assessment is necessary — for Starlink internet, a step from agency officials that indicates that the SpaceX service is under serious consideration. It also continues a trend of federal agencies expressing interest in working with one of Musk’s companies as the richest man in the world further embeds himself within the Trump administration and leads efforts to cut federal programs and shrink the federal workforce. 

CBP’s interest in Starlink was revealed through other privacy documentation recently released by the Department of Homeland Security. While the privacy threshold analysis for Starlink does not appear to be public, two other privacy threshold analyses — both published in response to public records requests — reference the document. An agency spokesperson also confirmed that there is a privacy threshold analysis for Starlink, which expires at the end of April. 

Full details of the Starlink evaluation aren’t public, but two other privacy threshold analyses for different projects reveal that the agency has expressed interest in deploying the technology through its automated surveillance tower program, which involves using towers with sensors and tracking technology to monitor the U.S. border. 

One privacy threshold analysis marked “complete” states that the PTA is “being updated to remove the Starlink pilot from the AST [Autonomous Surveillance Towers] PTA” because the system was not “part of the AST security boundary.” This document specifically references a privacy threshold analysis titled “CBP Starlink” and dated April 2023. 

Another privacy threshold analysis, listed as “in progress,” describes a more detailed pilot where Starlink terminals would be tested as part of the surveillance tower program.  

“The intent is to test the capacity of each Starlink terminal to handle multiple sensor systems and data types,” the document states. “This will inform long cost benefit to deploy [Automated Surveillance Towers] and Starlink terminals in communication denied areas, and potential utilization for other CBP capabilities.” 

Both of the public privacy threshold analyses included redactions.

Privacy threshold analyses are for internal use and are meant to assess the potential privacy impacts of a new technology, a CBP spokesperson told FedScoop. These documents are used as a way for DHS’s privacy office to determine whether additional privacy compliance documents are necessary and to evaluate whether a technology project at the agency is “privacy sensitive.” If that were the case, the agency would be required to conduct a privacy impact assessment that would be made public.

The spokesperson said the older analysis was focused on testing and evaluating Starlink’s ability to transmit sensor data from the automated surveillance towers program or “communication-denied” areas. The newer PTA was updated to correct a mistake that wrongly stated that Starlink was part of the tower program’s security boundary. 

The spokesperson confirmed the existence of a third privacy threshold analysis for Starlink that expires April 30, but noted that the project could be extended to a later date.

None of DHS’s work with SpaceX on USASpending references CBP, though the contracts available mention the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency and contractors seem to be providing the tool. Agreements with two separate contractors reference small awards for Starlink satellite internet services, but it’s not immediately clear if they’re related to the work described above.

CBP’s work with Starlink comes as Musk continues to take a leading role in the Trump administration, particularly with the Department of Government Efficiency, which has aided in the ongoing slashing of the federal workforce. His rising influence has raised serious questions about conflicts of interest, given that his companies have received tens of billions in federal contracts and assistance, all while DOGE cancels other contracts across the government.

Notably, while other agencies like the Defense Department and NASA use SpaceX’s space launch services, the work with CBP indicates that the federal government is also interested in its internet service, which is provided by thousands of SpaceX satellites in low-Earth orbit. 

The Federal Aviation Administration may also turn to Starlink internet soon. The Washington Post reported this week that the aviation agency appears to be preparing to drop a $2.4 billion contract with Verizon for telecommunications and switch to Starlink.

An FAA spokesperson said in a statement to FedScoop that the agency’s use of Starlink was meant to boost access to weather information for agency facilities in Alaska. Tests were scheduled this week for one Starlink terminal at the FAA’s Atlantic City facility and two terminals at “non-safety critical sites” in Alaska, the agency said.  

“Alaska has long had issues with reliable weather information for the aviation community,” the spokesperson said. “The 2024 FAA Reauthorization required the FAA to fix telecommunications connections to address those needs. That is why the FAA has been considering the use of Starlink since the prior administration to increase reliability at remote sites, including in Alaska.”