Spy Agency Contracts Awarded to Commercial Satellite Firms

    Image copyright: Maxar Technologies/Reuters [via The Washington Post]

    The Spin

    Pro-establishment narrative

    This is a win-win situation. The government still designs and operates the most exquisite and cutting-edge intelligence satellites, but commercial companies can offer ways to cheaply cover much of the world. Because the commercial images are unclassified, intelligence agencies can share data and collaborate more easily with allies and partners.

    Establishment-critical narrative

    Commercial satellite imagery technology must be regulated. The government needs to impose stricter limits on commercial satellite technology. Soon, anyone from ad companies to terrorist organizations could be monitoring innocent citizens using technology previously reserved for government intelligence agencies. It is a slippery slope to this Orwellian distopia.

    Metaculus Prediction


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