State Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D−Astoria) blasted Google for continuing to make satellite images and street views of public areas available online, saying that the Internet search engine posed a threat to national security.
The assemblyman called on the search engine to obscure photographs and satellite images of potential targets following reports that terrorists used Google’s Earth Maps to plan the Nov. 26 attacks in Mumbai.
“Whether it involves military bases in Iraq, fuel pipelines leading to JFK airport or sensitive locations in India or Britain, terrorists have proven that satellite−imaging programs like Google Earth are being used as a valuable tool in their arsenal,” he said.
Gianaris said environmental advocates used Google Earth satellite images to gain rooftop access to the Palace of Westminster in England to hold a protest in February 2008, while terrorists who plotted to bomb a fuel pipeline leading to John F. Kennedy International Airport also used the search engine.
The assemblyman called on Google to consult with the U.S. Homeland Security Department to determine which satellite images should be allowed online.
— Nathan Duke
