It is trivial to make your GPS receiver firmware ignore these limits. There are even open-source receivers (SwiftNav piksi, for example). Modifying a binary is much harder, but not impossible for a motivated state like Iran or Russia. It’s best to think of the COCOM limits as suggestions.

What’s newsworthy is that the cops didn’t shoot the dogs on sight

People make money running the Telegram channels that distribute these videos.

The watermarks point people to their channels-that’s why often you’ll see something like a telegram link watermark float over an explosion.