Government to Clamp Down On Satellite Images?

You've probably seen satellite images used for various news stories through the year, especially when it comes to weather, but that could come to an end. There's a bill in the Senate that would prohibit the public release of many such images in the name of "national security."

Defense Tech explains:

The measure, "Nondisclosure of Certain Products of Commercial Satellite Operations," would exempt from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) unclassified, commercial satellite pictures bought up by the government, as well as "any... other product that is derived from such data." ... If this regulation passes, much of that imagery – not classified in any way, and collected by a private company, not a government agency -- would vanish from public view.

"Almost every clause of the proposed exemption embodies patent hostility to the conventions of open government and public access to government information," Secrecy News fumes. For example, "maps, reports, and any other unclassified government analyses or communications that are in some way 'derived from' a commercial satellite image would all of a sudden become inaccessible."

The more the government clamps down on the public disclosure of information of legitimate interest to the people, the farther the government moves from where it needs to be in order to adequately secure people's liberties and rights. The free flow of information is one of the foundations of a free society because when important information is kept hidden, people can't arrive at reasonable decisions about their lives or the direction of community politics.

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