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Governments Express Security Concerns Over Google Earth

  • NY Times, Tuesday, December 20, 2005 10:15 AM
We love Google Earth, Google's free aerial satellite mapping program, because we believe its marriage to local search functionality could one day prove to be an advertising bonanza for marketers looking to reach local users. But government officials in some countries are wary that the maps of their major cities, which can show detailed overhead images of government buildings and military structures, could too easily fall into the wrong hands. India, whose laws strictly forbid satellite and aerial photography, warned that the program "could severely compromise" its and other countries' security. An irate Russian security agent said of Google Earth: "Terrorists don't need to reconnoiter their target. Now an American company is working for them." But there's very little other countries can do about this, The New York Times says in its article, especially since Google isn't the only company out there providing overhead satellite images of major cities. In fact, Google licenses most of its images for Google Earth. The point is that a satellite mapping service over the Internet is impossible for any one country to control, even though security concerns might be very real.

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