Taking Google Maps Too Seriously

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber

March 7, 2008

The Internet is a wonderful thing. So is information. But some things we do not want plastered all over the Internet, like our health records, and the floor plans to the Pentagon. Right? Google thinks otherwise.

Pentagon Bans Google Team from Bases

WASHINGTON (AP) — Citing security risks, the Pentagon banned Google teams from making detailed street-level video maps of U.S. military bases after images of a Texas base ended up on the popular Internet site.

A message sent to all Defense Department bases and installations around the country late last week told officials not to allow the mapping Web site to take panoramic views inside the facilities. Google said taking such pictures is against its policy and that the incident was a mistake.

Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, chief of the U.S. Northern Command, said Thursday that that the decision to issue a formal ban was made after at least one Google crew requested and then was permitted access to a base, identified in the message as Fort Sam Houston. He said he was concerned that allowing the 360-degree, street-level view could provide sensitive information to potential adversaries and endanger base personnel.

It’s a worry, Renuart said, because such views can show ”where all the guards are, it shows how the barriers go up and down, it shows how to get in and out of buildings, and I think that poses a real security risk to our military installations.”

The story gets weirder and weirder. Especially the part about where Google shrugs shoulders and says “Oops.”

Google spokesman Larry Yu said a Google crew mistakenly asked for access to a base.

”It is against our policy to request access to military bases for the purpose of capturing imagery in Street View,” he said, adding that when Google was contacted, the imagery was taken off the site within about 24 hours.

Street View is a feature on Google Map pages that allows viewers to click on a location and see a panoramic view of that spot.

The issue emerged just a few days after published reports suggested that protesters used Google Earth to help plot their access to the roof of the Parliament building in London.

…According to the message sent by U.S. Northern Command to military installations around the country, Google representatives requested access to Fort Sam Houston and were granted permission.

”Once given access they took panoramic images of the area with roof-mounted recording equipment,” the message said. ”These images were placed on the Internet for public access.” The imagery included views of entry gates, barriers, the headquarters and other facilities.

Ummmmmm…. how can you “mistakenly” ask to see a base? I’m no military girl, but when I ask to see a base, I know that it’s a base. What did they do, call a wrong number and get Fort Houston instead? And the guys who make Google maps don’t know it’s a base?? Come on! They knew what they were doing.

Anyway, the government made sure to emphasize that their protest has nothing to do with making Google look bad.

Renuart stressed that this was not an attack against the Internet giant, and that it was more a concern about secondary effects of an otherwise good technology.

That’s right. You don’t want Google after you, man. Could be World War 3 or something. Google did, by the way, willingly remove the information at the military’s request. But wow.

Hat tip: NYCO’s Blog: