Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has highlighted a significant weakness in the government’s agreement with Starlink, noting that it does not grant access to the company’s data systems in the event of a national security issue. This contrasts with the arrangements the government has with local telecom providers, which grant access to data systems under legal provisions.
Speaking on a television program, President Dissanayake explained that the government has been able to uncover several security threats, including the Arugam Bay incident and the recent court shooting, because it has access to local telecommunications data systems. However, the government currently lacks similar access to Starlink’s systems, as such provisions were not included in the initial agreement with the company.
“This poses a direct threat to national security. There isn’t even a designated person to take responsibility, and we have no legal grounds to access the system,” Dissanayake stated. The government raised this concern with Starlink, and in response, the company has agreed to provide a dashboard that would allow access to certain data.
However, Dissanayake emphasized that the full scope of the access provided through this dashboard is still unclear. As a precautionary measure, the government has allowed the release of the necessary equipment to build the dashboard. “Once it is operational, we will be able to assess how much access to data we actually have,” he concluded.
