The bipartisan US Congress Joint Economic Committee is investigating whether SpaceX knowingly provided Starlink access to scam compounds in Myanmar, where UN-reported criminal operations involve forced labor and human trafficking; the committee can invite Elon Musk to testify but cannot compel him.

The stakes are significant: the US Treasury estimated Americans lost $10 billion to Southeast Asian scam networks last year, up 66% in 12 months, while the UN estimates at least 120,000 people in Myanmar and about 100,000 in Cambodia may be trapped in operations involving confinement and abuse.

An AFP investigation found Starlink dishes at scam compounds, including KK Park on the Myanmar-Thailand border; following an October 20 raid, Myanmar state media reported 30 receiver sets seized, while AFP images showed nearly 80 dishes on a building’s roof.

APNIC data indicate Starlink’s footprint surged: after having too little traffic to rank among Myanmar’s internet providers, it became the country’s largest provider every day from July 3 through October 1, following a February crackdown on scam operations in the region.

In October, SpaceX vice president of business operations for Starlink Lauren Dreyer said the company had identified and disabled more than 2,500 kits near suspected scam centers in Myanmar and responds to violations, including by working with law enforcement; SpaceX has not commented on the congressional investigation.

But disabling kits after identifying them leaves key questions unanswered: how thousands of devices were distributed, activated and billed in a country where Starlink was not licensed, and why the service ranked as Myanmar’s top provider for months.

Senator Maggie Hassan said SpaceX did not respond to an 11-question letter she sent in July about Starlink’s role in the scam economy; she has urged Musk to block criminal networks across Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, noting that portable Starlink equipment operates outside national telecom systems and can be moved when authorities close in.

The inquiry also tests oversight of Starlink as a major infrastructure provider with government contracts—and whether Congress will press for answers despite its inability to force Musk to testify.