Satellite firm Planet Labs to indefinitely withhold Iran war images

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William Marshall, Planet Labs Co-Founder speaking at the WEF in Davos, Switzerland on May 25th, 2022.

Adam Galica | CNBC

Satellite imaging firm Planet Labs said on Saturday it will indefinitely withhold imagery of Iran and the conflict region in the Middle East to comply with a request from the U.S. government.

California-based Planet Labs announced the decision in an email to customers, saying the U.S. government had asked all satellite imagery providers to indefinitely withhold imagery of the conflict region.

The restriction expands upon a 14-day delay on imagery of the Middle East that Planet Labs imposed last month, a move the firm said was meant to prevent adversaries from using it to attack the U.S. and its allies.

Planet Labs said it will withhold imagery dating back to March 9 and that it expects the policy to remain in effect until the conflict ends.

The war began when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, and the conflict spread in the region when Tehran responded by launching its own attacks on Israel and U.S. bases in Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Military uses of satellite technology include target identification, weapons guidance, missile tracking and communications. Some space specialists say Iran could be accessing commercial imagery, including pictures obtained via U.S. adversaries. Satellite images also help journalists and academicians study hard-to-reach places.

Planet Labs, which operates a large fleet of Earth-imaging satellites and sells frequently updated images to governments, companies and media, did not respond to a request for further comment.

The Pentagon said it does not comment on intelligence-related matters.

Planet Labs said in its email to customers that it would switch to a “managed distribution of images” that it deemed not to pose a safety risk. Under a new system, Planet Labs will release imagery on a case-by-case basis for urgent, mission-critical requirements or in the public interest.

“These are extraordinary circumstances, and we are doing all we can to balance the needs of all our stakeholders,” the firm said.

One commercial provider, Vantor, formerly Maxar Technologies, told Reuters it had not been contacted by the U.S. government. For years, Vantor has reserved the right to “implement enhanced access controls during times of geopolitical conflict” and has currently applied them to parts of the Middle East, a company spokesperson said in a statement.

Those controls can include limits on who can request new images or buy existing pictures of regions where the U.S. military and its allies are “actively operating,” and areas “actively targeted by adversaries,” the spokesperson said.

One other commercial provider contacted by Reuters, BlackSky Technology, did not immediately return a request for comment.

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