ABSTRACT
Commercial satellite systems today have capabilities that until recently were only achieved by governmental systems operated by the military or intelligence agencies. Data from such systems can provide timely information about foreign military installations, equipment, and operations; they can provide insights into critical infrastructure or indirect inferences about economic production and the like. While the launch and operation of Earth observation satellites as a space activity is typically subject to national space law, such law does not necessarily regulate issues related to the generated data. As Earth observation data affect the foreign, security, and defence policy interests of states and can be extremely sensitive, there is a particular need for special regulation. This concerns primarily the production, reception, further processing, and dissemination of data recorded by commercial Earth observation satellites. So far, only five states have adopted special regulatory mechanisms, namely the US, Canada, Japan, Germany, and France. Finland is currently working on a special set of regulations. In this chapter, the relevant laws and regulations of these countries are reviewed and assessed, followed by the identification of common future challenges.
