NOAA tells SpaceX to turn off the camera 9 minutes into Iridium Next launch

This was the most interesting statement for me in this blurb. -- "These NOAA regulations were enacted to prevent individuals from launching and flying their own personal spy satellites in space. However, as astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell pointed out on Twitter, it is not clear what national security rationale there is for controlling cameras on the second stage of SpaceX rockets."

I asked in this comment (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16555617) what happens when someone sends up a cubesat that turns out to be a "spy satellite." Apparently NOAA has a regulation for that. Apparently buried in this web site (https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/CRSRA/) which includes "Balance commercial viability of private Earth remote sensing space systems and sound regulatory practices and policies while protecting national security, foreign policy and international obligations."

So I guess they would come after you if you put up a cubesat that you could point in any direction and take pictures and send them back to Earth.