[435] in Privacy_Forum
[ PRIVACY Forum ] New Attacks on Google in the "Photo Wars"
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (privacy@vortex.com)
Wed Mar 11 22:18:46 2009
Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:54:18 -0700
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New Attacks on Google in the "Photo Wars"
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000517.html
Greetings. The latest salvo in the "cameras cause terrorism" battles
has been fired by a State Assemblyman here in California, who has
introduced legislation -- AB-255 --
( http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/03/11/google.earth.censor.california ),
to require Google Earth (and similar services) to blur a range of
California locations -- as presumed protection against terrorist
attacks ( http://lauren.vortex.com/google-e-l.jpg ). The fine for
violations would be up to a cool $250K/day. The bill's proponent
feels sure that other states and the federal government will want to
get in on the mapping censorship bandwagon in a big way.
Assemblyman Joel Anderson (a San Diego Republican) lists initial sites
to be "protected" under his legislation as schools, places of worship,
government buildings, and medical facilities.
But why stop there, Mr. Anderson? If you're so sure that blurring
public access aerial imagery is so important to stopping terrorism,
why not go for broke? Don't people in shopping centers deserve the
same protection? On the freeways? At your house? My house? Animal
shelters? Movie theater multiplexes? My local motorcycle parts
dealer?
This is all utter nonsense, of course. Highly questionable claims
about the recent Mumbai attacks notwithstanding, I've yet to see any
confirmed evidence of Google Earth or its kin being used in any
significant way for terrorism planning beyond what could easily be
done with more conventional maps or in-person observations.
Google has already bent over backwards to fulfill government requests
for blurring of supposedly highly sensitive locations in aerial
photos, and blurs faces and license plates in Street View.
The risk was always present that starting down the mapping
"self-censorship" road could start an avalanche of demands from
entities who just can't stand the notion of the public having access
to good quality photographic imagery. After all, who knows what
safety violations or other skulduggery observant members of the masses
might find?
But of course, detailed mapping imagery and live closed circuit (CCTV)
camera networks in the hands of law enforcement are viewed as wholly
different matters by most of these same folks. Just look at the UK
where there now seem to be enough CCTV cameras to cover the bodily
orifices of the entire population on nearly a 24/7 basis.
Real-time government CCTV video surveillance networks can be genuinely
privacy invasive and subject to all manner of serious abuses. But the
types of details provided by publicly available photographic mapping
services like Google Earth (and Street View for that matter) are
extremely important as tools that enhance the public's right to know.
And these mapping services are of extremely marginal value to
terrorists or other evil doers in the real world, relative to other
easily available and far less hi-tech information sources.
Knee jerk attacks on Google Earth and similar Internet-based mapping
services -- seemingly inevitably made without hard evidence to back
them up -- need to cease. I hope that Google, Microsoft, and others
who provide these services don't give in easily and unnecessarily to
unreasonable demands. This slippery slope of censorship puts into
sharp focus how easily the entire planet could become one big blur.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@vortex.com
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
- People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
- Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, GCTIP - Global Coalition
for Transparent Internet Performance - http://www.gctip.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
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