Humanitarian organizations and journalists have expressed concern since, as a leading satellite imagery company has told its users, which restricts access to images of Iran and much of the Middle East at the request of the US government. California-based Planet Labs initially implemented a 14-day delay in providing new images from the region in March. Since then, the restriction has changed to "indefinite".
This decision limited the opportunities of journalists, humanitarian groups and analysts to use satellite images to assess the consequences of the US-Israeli war with Iran, including damage to military targets and civilian infrastructure. It is not clear, which prompted the US to pressure Planet, for it to suspend its coverage, and the Ministry of Defense did not respond to a request for comment. Planet initially stated, that its original 14-day delay policy has occurred, to prevent adversaries from using this data.
Experts in satellite imaging note, what are these companies, as Planet, who have military contracts, may sometimes comply with non-distribution requirements, which are actually "commercially incentivized". BBC Verify used Planet images from across the Middle East in its reporting, in particular, since the beginning of the war in Iran at the end of February, such as during the US strike on a school in the Iranian city of Minab.
These changes now mean, what image, made after 9 March, will no longer be available to the company's customers. According to investigative journalist Benjamin Strick, who worked for CNN, Financial Times and BBC, satellite imagery has become a key tool for reporters. This especially applies to "conflict zones.", natural disasters and other limited environments, where journalists cannot safely access the scene or where information is tightly controlled”, he said.
Planet's business model is similar to others in the industry. It is expanding its work with the US defense sector, including the US National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and – through a subsidiary – the US Navy. It also cooperates with the German and Swedish armed forces. Vantor company, formerly known as Maxar, has contracts with the US Army and the US Space Force and restricts coverage of US military base operations. However, she told Reuters earlier this week, that Pentagon officials did not ask her to limit coverage of Iran's activities.
Bill Greer, geospatial analyst, who previously worked at Maxar and co-founded the non-profit satellite service Common Space, noted, that the number of defense contracts, concluded by such companies, as Planet, gives governments a degree of influence over them. “Now we're seeing voluntary compliance, driven by commercial incentives, and not legal obligations", he told BBC Verify. "When your biggest customer is also the government, which regulates your activities, the line between voluntary and forced becomes very thin".
Greer also noted, that humanitarian groups have been affected by restrictions on satellite imagery. "When an entire region goes into a security alert mode for an indefinite period of time, this directly affects their ability to plan for evacuation, assess damages, document human rights violations and coordinate aid delivery", he said.
BBC Verify also relied on satellite images, to report on the changes and destruction in Gaza, because Israel does not allow the media to independently send journalists to Gaza. Previously, there were delays in the arrival of images from Gaza, but never to such a scale. Todd Garrixon, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a former captain in the US Air Force, told BBC Verify, that the Iranian military has limited satellite surveillance capabilities of its own, which makes them highly dependent on Russia, China and “any images, which they can obtain from commercial suppliers".
"American and European commercial firms have some of the best space surveillance capabilities in the world", he said. "This data would be extremely valuable to Iran in its efforts to strike targets in the Middle East… and to evaluate the effectiveness of his blows". Fears were also expressed, that the attackers took advantage of the restrictions, superimposed on Iranian images, to spread fakes on the Internet.
Amir Farkhand, founder of Soar.Atlas, Australian mapping platform, which uses satellite images, told BBC Verify, that during this conflict it recorded "a massive increase in the number of fake satellite images", adding, that this trend is "becoming a serious problem". In the absence of Planet services, its news clients, such as the BBC and the New York Times, appeal to decisions, that are not based in the US.
But Christoph Kettle, investigative journalist from the New York Times, who specializes in visual investigations, said, that resolution, offered by some of these services, such as the European Space Agency, does not provide the same level of detail or broad coverage. "The image is blurred. I can't tell the cars apart, vehicles, etc.", he said. "The advantage of such a supplier, like Planet Labs, there is that, that they film almost every place on Earth once a day".
Harrison said, what awaits, that the limitation, similar to those, that are required from Planet, will become more common, but increasingly less obvious, as the industry expands, а по всьому світу з’являються нові постачальники. «Оскільки технології подвійного використання, подібні до цієї, стають дедалі демократичнішими, it makes the modern battlefield more transparent for both sides, than ever before", he said. "This is a fact of life, to which the US and others will have to adapt, planning and conducting military operations".
Source: https://www.bbc.com