Brussels, Belgium – The European Union has agreed to a 24-hour delay in publishing some images and data from its Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites of the Strait of Hormuz, in response to an official request from the United States, citing concerns that this data from the Earth observation program could pose a security threat.
According to the decision issued by the Council of the European Union, the European Commission was asked to apply this delay to “a specific geographical area that forms part of the Gulf of Oman.” The annex to the decision defines this area using five sets of longitude and latitude coordinates, covering the shipping lanes leading to and from the Strait of Hormuz, a region of strategic importance in the context of the ongoing military conflict between the United States and Iran.
Space News obtained a copy of the decision dated July 13 and signed by Council President Kaya Callas. The existence and adoption of this decision were confirmed in an official document issued by the Council of the European Union on July 20, although it had not yet been published in the Official Journal of the Union at the time of preparing this report.
A blow to open data policy and competition from American companies
This measure represents a notable exception to the free and open data policy of Copernicus, the European Union’s Earth observation program that manages the Sentinel satellite fleet. The decision also casts a shadow over the efforts of European Earth observation companies that have recently sought to promote themselves as an alternative and competitor to American companies by offering unrestricted access to satellite imagery.
This move follows similar actions taken by American companies. In early March, following the outbreak of direct military confrontation between Washington and Tehran, Planet imposed a 96-hour ban on the immediate release of new images of the region, before informing its clients in April that it was withholding the images indefinitely at the request of the US administration. Venture and Maxar had previously imposed similar restrictions separately.
European Earth observation companies revealed to SpaceNews last May that their services were increasingly sought after by global energy traders, insurance and shipping companies, and media organizations after US companies suspended sharing images of the Arabian Gulf and Iran due to military escalation. Antoine Rostand, president and co-founder of the French environmental intelligence company Kyros, praised the European system at the time, saying, “The good news is that we have the Copernicus program in Europe, which has continued to operate without any restrictions.”
Security justifications, routine procedures, and diplomatic efforts
In response to an inquiry about whether similar restrictions had previously been imposed on Copernicus data, a European Commission spokesperson pointed to security exceptions stipulated in the program’s open data policy. The spokesperson stated, “The Copernicus program operates under a free and open data policy that ensures that satellite imagery is available to users worldwide in accordance with applicable regulations and operational considerations. However, this policy allows for restrictions for security reasons.” The spokesperson described the delay as “a routine technical measure to protect against potential security risks, a standard practice employed by many satellite operators.”
Documents from the decision issued on July 13 show that the US authorities submitted their request through a diplomatic effort on May 26, within the framework of the EU’s space threat response structure, a framework that authorizes the Council to issue security directives affecting the EU’s space systems.
The Council affirmed that this time delay was necessary to prevent the exploitation of Copernicus products by any third country or non-state actors in a manner that could threaten the interests of the European Union, its Member States, or its allies in the region. The proposal was endorsed by the EU Political and Security Committee on June 10. The published decision did not specify when this time-out ban would take effect, how long it would remain in place, or when it would be reviewed.
