Planet Labs company, which is engaged in satellite imaging, said on Saturday, that will indefinitely hide images of Iran and the Middle East conflict region at the request of the US government.
California company Planet Labs (PL.N), announced this decision in an e-mail to customers and informed, that the US government has asked all satellite imagery providers to withhold images of the conflict region indefinitely. This restriction extends the 14-day delay in providing images of the Middle East, which Planet Labs introduced last month, and this step, according to the firm, intended to prevent adversaries from using these images to attack the US and its allies.
Planet Labs stated, which will hide the image, dated vil 9 March, and expects, that this policy will remain in effect until the end of the conflict. The war has begun, when the US and Israel struck Iran 28 February, and the conflict spread in the region, when Tehran responded with its own attacks on Israel and American bases in the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Some experts claim, that Iran can access commercial space imagery, including snapshots, received from adversaries of the United States. Planet Labs company, which operates a large constellation of Earth-imaging satellites and sells frequently updated images to users, did not respond to a request for further comment, and the Pentagon stated, which does not comment on the question, related to intelligence.
In its email to customers, Planet Labs said, which will switch to "managed image sharing", which is considered as such, which does not pose a security threat. According to the new system, Planet Labs will post images on a case-by-case basis for emergencies, critical needs or in the public interest.
"These are extraordinary circumstances, and we do our best, to balance the needs of all our stakeholders", - said the company. One commercial supplier, Mittens, formerly Maxar Technologies, reported Reuters, that the US government has not contacted him. Vantor has for years reserved the right to "implement enhanced access control during geopolitical conflicts" and currently applies it to parts of the Middle East, the company's spokesperson said in a statement.
These controls may include restrictions on, who can request new images or purchase existing region images, where the US military and its allies are active, as well as districts, which are actively attacking opponents, said the spokesman.
Source: https://www.reuters.com