EO data dissemination, personal data processing and privacy compliance

As already highlighted during the 2023 edition of MetroAeroSpace, the ”new space economy,” characterized by new factors such as: the introduction of typical assembly line techniques for large-scale production, the use of COTS components, and the use of technologies devised and employed in the ICT sector (e.g.: AI, quantum computing) also in Space, all supported by strong private capital investments, seems capable of bringing greater efficiency and incisiveness to the economic development of space activities. However, this still carries risks, stemming from the enormous amount of data collected through the sensors embarked on Earth observation satellites and made available. There is a risk that such data will be obtained, disseminated and processed in ways that raise serious questions for the privacy of ”ordinary citizens”. Therefore, taking into consideration the continuing need to arrive at an organic and shared regulation of the sector, the objective of this paper is to examine whether and how it is possible to apply, in relation to the procedures for the dissemination and processing of EO data, the already established principles regarding the processing of personal data (in the form of satellite images), as well as the concepts of privacy by design and privacy by default. This will be followed by a description of a possible technical solution, described in broad outline, that would make it possible to trace the flow of EO data, starting from the entity that collects and distributes it, even for a fee, to the users themselves, all with already established technical solutions.