A South African regulator started a probe into allegations that Elon Musk-led SpaceX’s Starlink internet-satellite service was operating in the country illegally.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa has formally engaged with SpaceX and is awaiting a response, it said in a statement Wednesday.

“Should the investigation yield any breach with regulatory and legislative frameworks, the authority will explore the applicable enforcement actions within its disposal,” Icasa Chairperson Mothibi Ramusi said. That may include “lodging a formal complaint with the International Telecommunication Union,” he said.

Starlink — which has more than 5-million users globally — delivers broadband internet beamed down from a network of roughly 7 500 satellites that SpaceX started deploying in 2019. South Africa is among several nations on the continent that haven’t licensed the service.

Pretoria-born Musk has sought approval to operate Starlink in the country, but has objected to legislation that seeks to boost Black participation in the economy, accusing the government of having “openly racist ownership laws.”

South Africa introduced the rules after the end of apartheid, an era in which the majority of people were excluded from the formal economy by the ruling White minority.

Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi of the Democratic Alliance, the second-largest party in the nation’s governing coalition, last week proposed amending rules to allow companies like Starlink to enter South African without sharing ownership, a move that lawmakers challenged in parliament this week.

Meanwhile, South Africans have found ways around the current restrictions by registering the kit and services in other nearby nations that allow the service and then using the roaming option to access it in their home country.

Malatsi issued the directive two days after President Cyril Ramaphosa met US counterpart Donald Trump in Washington to mend strained relations. Flashpoints include Trump’s false claims that White Afrikaner farmers face a genocide in South Africa, a statement also made by Musk, who attended last week’s gathering in the White House’s Oval Office.

Starlink’s technology would be a potential game-changer for South African users who’ve historically faced expensive or unreliable internet options. Only 2.7% of rural households have access to the web, according to a 2024 survey compiled by the local statistics agency.

The regulator reiterated its “uncompromising position against any form of non-compliance within the South African regulatory environment.”