California Lawmaker Demands Blurring Of Satellite Images

By Digital Trends Staff Published October 25, 2009

California Lawmaker Demands Blurring Of Satellite Images

Joel Anderson, a San Diego Republican who’s a member of the California assembly, is a man with a mission. He wants to keep America safe by forcing companies to blur satellite images of schools, places of worship, government or medical buildings, as well as banning street images.

He’s even tabled a bill to that effect, and if it passes, companies that fail to do so could face up to three years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 a day.

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Citing last year’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai, where the attackers reportedly used Google Earth to plan their havoc, he told AP:

"All I’m trying to do is stop terrorists. I don’t want California to be helping map out future targets for terrorists."

Google Earth already blurs or blocks a number of facilities, such as army bases and nuclear facilities.

But, as Simon Davies, president of the London-based Privacy International pointed out:

"Just taking a picture of a building is not a threat because these images have been available for decades."

Anderson’s bill would only apply to California.

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