The Prime Directive was frequently applied to less developed planets which had not yet discovered warp travel or subspace communication technology. The Prime Directive was also sometimes applied to advanced civilizations that already knew of life on other worlds but were protected by empires outside the Federation's jurisdiction. First contact could be made by the Federation with alien worlds that had either discovered warp or were on the verge of it, or with highly advanced civilizations that simply hadn't ventured into space yet. In those cases, the Prime Directive was used as a general policy to not disrupt or interfere with their culture when establishing peaceful diplomatic relations.
The Prime Directive was frequently applied to less developed planets which had not yet discovered warp travel or subspace communication technology The Prime Directive was also sometimes applied to advanced civilizations that already knew of life on other worlds but were protected by empires outside the Federation's jurisdiction First contact could be made by the Federation with alien worlds that had either discovered warp or were on the verge of it or with highly advanced civilizations that simply hadn't ventured into space yet In those cases the Prime Directive was used as a general policy to not disrupt or interfere with their culture when establishing peaceful diplomatic relations