Google Earth, India and Security — Again

India doesn’t seem to want to leave Google alone: after complaining about the satellite data in Google Earth, the Indian government is back to complaining about the labelling of Kashmir (via GeoCarta). See previous entries: Google Earth: Indian Reactions, Google Earth and Disputed Borders and Names.

Meanwhile, the Christian Science Monitor takes a look at the controversy over countries objecting to Google’s easily available satellite images (via Ogle Earth). See previous entry: Google Earth Privacy and Security Roundup.

Posted on Thursday, December 1, 2005 at 3:27 PM
Categories: Censorship & Security, Satellite & Aerial

Comments

I love Google, and I love their maps, and I don’t even go anywhere. I just like to study them. I wouldn’t mind if they called Burma Burma, but I bet they won’t. The maps are still great, and I do hope we won’t be deprived.

I really don’t care about India - it’s not the only country I can watch on the map :)

Dear Eugene,

I can understand that you dont care for India as you must not be Indian. But at the same time we as an Indian has right to express our concern. If Google gives your country’s secret mission’s photo then definetely you will be concern about it. But if I say I dont care for it because I am not from your country it wont help us as a world in long term. We have to think of others and look into the concern of other people. You can watch other country but at the same time the person who want to damage particular country let say India which is suffering from terririsom since 1983 (US has suffered first blow in 2003 on their soil.) they will just watch and study secret images of India. So do concern about other countries also.

google earth do not view very clear pic of punjab,india as of other states
can u help

I am an individual retired bank employee. Google earth provides me information only for my academic interest and visit places on the internet which I would not otherwise be able to. The apprehensions of security related concerns are quite misplaced.Acts of terrorisms and other anti national activities of any country are not dependent on such maps.They took place earlier without the maps and cannot be curbed merely by proscribing the availability of such maps.Sujoy Ghosh

As an Indian I am certainly hurt with Google depcting Kashmir as part of Pakistan. Perhaps the Google people would not be able to understand the sentiments, but I would ask them to consider how they would feel if Texas or California would have been called as part of Mexico. It is easy for ignorant people to say that they dont care about a third world country like India. Atleast National Geographic takes the diplomatic path and posts general comments about the maps. It is not upto Google to decide what the present situation is. If that is the case then they should update the map every few days as the situation changes. Google should realize that internet is and will be a large part of the future and any data published by them may be an inaccurate part of history.

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