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Pentagon bans Google map-makers |
tranced
Joined: Jan 19, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Santo Domingo, wonDeRland
PM |
The US defence department has banned the giant internet search engine Google from filming inside and making detailed studies of US military bases.
Close-up, ground-level imagery of US military sites posed a "potential threat" to security, it said.
The move follows the discovery of images of the Fort Sam Houston army base in Texas on Google Maps.
A Google spokesman said that where the US military had expressed concerns, images had been removed.
Google has now been barred from filming and conducting detailed studies of bases, following the discovery of detailed, three-dimensional panoramas online - and in particular, views of the Texan base.
But images inside the base have been removed
"Images include 360-degree views of the covered area to include access control points, barriers, headquarters, facilities and community areas," said the defence department in a statement quoted by AFP news agency.
It said such detailed mapping could pose a threat.
Google spokesman Larry Yu said the decision by a Google team to enter the Texas base, which is in San Antonio, and undertake a detailed survey, had been "a mistake".
He told the BBC that it was "not our policy to request access to military installations, but in this instance the operator of the vehicle with the camera on top - which is how we go about capturing imagery for Street-View - requested permission to access a military installation, was given access, and after learning of the incident we quickly removed the imagery".
S O U R C E
afraid?
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Xugaa
Joined: Oct 05, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Great Britain
PM |
Afraid? Not really, I more or less agree with the decision.
The picture shown in the linked BBC article is about as far as I'd allow for Google to go in terms of restricted government and military buildings, being the outside. I believe that no matter how small the chance of anything sinister being planned or happening to these buildings, security is an important factor that should always be considered both for the nation and its people's safety. As the article states, it's not just American authorities proceeding with this as other countries such as South Korea, Morocco and India have also expressed their concerns, restricting Google's detail on such places. I'm sure many other coutries would also follow the same route when too much is being shown publicly
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Posted: 2008-03-08 12:36
jay0726 | 
