SETI Revises Alien Contact Protocols Amid Rising Fascination With 3I/ATLAS — Strange Timing Indeed

For decades, SETI protocols served primarily as academic guidance; today, they function as a geopolitical safeguard. The new draft integrates legal, ethical, and risk-communication principles—essentially transforming alien contact from a scientific event into an international governance matter. It also frames SETI activities within a legal-policy matrix aligned with space-law conventions, emphasizing researcher safety and data transparency while leaving little room for unsanctioned participation.

In doing so, the IAA SETI Committee has taken what it calls “a necessary step toward global responsibility.” Yet for others, this raises uncomfortable questions about who gets to speak for Earth—and who doesn’t. As technosignature detection technology expands, so does public access to it. Whether the new protocols will foster coordination or deepen public distrust may depend on how openly those “select entities” exercise their gatekeeping authority in the years to come.

Source
Garrett M. A., Denning K., Tennen L. I., Oliver C., “SETI Post-Detection Protocols Progress Towards a New Version” arXiv: 2510.14506 [astro-ph.IM] (16 Oct 2025).