Planet Labs has stopped publishing satellite images of the conflict in the Middle East at the request of the United States

The American company Planet Lab has suspended the publication of satellite images of the conflict in the Middle East at the request of the American authorities. NPR science journalist Jeff Brumfield reported this on his Twitter (X) page, publishing a letter from the company.

“During the conflict in the Middle East, the American government asked all satellite imagery providers to voluntarily refrain from publishing images of this area of ​​interest. Starting March 9, 2026, the company is moving to a managed access model, sharing images only for urgent, mission-critical tasks or in the public interest on an individual basis,” the statement says. The decision also applies to journalists and the media.

According to Der Spiegel, on March 10 the company announced a two-week moratorium on access to its images of the Middle East due to the war, and before that it decided to refrain from publication for 96 hours. Usually pictures are published within a few hours after they were taken. Under US law, any US company selling access to high-resolution satellite imagery may be subject to restrictions on national security grounds.