Should Google Blur out Government Buildings?

Filed under: Satellite maps

I’ve been reading blog posts about this subject for probably a year now.  I never post them, because I don’t tend to stir up controversy and I don’t personally believe that it’s a good idea to start blurring out buildings that arbitrary people think should be blurred out.

California assemblyman Joel Anderson has been trying to get a bill passed which would blur out certain “sensitive” buildings.  Terrorism is the reason or excuse given for this idea.  That blurring out these buildings like schools, military bases, government buildings, churches, etc. would prevent terrorist attacks.  And I can definitely see that viewpoint.  But there’s a lot more to consider here, before making a decision like this.  And I was looking for more information on THAT, before I posted anything on this subject.

Today I read a blog post, explaining how detrimental the blurring out of buildings would be to scientific advancement.  And it made a lot of sense to me.  So I wanted to give you a link to it. (Thank you CNET and Drexel University researcher Keith Sevcik for providing us with a viewpoint that makes sense on this subject.)

Why Blurring Google Maps is a Bad Idea

What do YOU think?

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