The satellite firm Planet Labs told customers, including major news outlets, that it was acting on the Trump administration’s request as it announced it was implementing “an indefinite withhold of imagery” in Iran and across the Middle Eastern countries where the widening conflict started by the US and Israel is unfolding.
The Saturday announcement, said UK rights campaigner Sarah Wilkinson, was a sign that images of the war will be censored “to hide the truth.”
Planet Labs sent an email to journalists who have regularly used the company’s satellite images to report on the US-Israeli bombing of Iran and Iran’s retaliatory actions on Saturday, saying that after receiving a request from the US government, it was “moving to a managed access model… and releasing imagery on a case-by-case basis and for urgent, mission-critical requirements or in the public interest.”
Good news. Corporations are not immune from lawsuits. If Planet Labs wants to coverup illegal acts & participate in war crimes then it absolutely can and should be held accountable. Furthermore, because these actions involve environmental disasters based on them targeting energy infrastructure, even citizens then have standing to file suits.