Top US Senator to Apple, Google: ‘Curb your spy planes’
One week after Apple announced it was booting Google Maps from iOS and photographing the world with its own aerial fleet, a top US Senator has written to both companies expressing concern over their "military-grade spy planes."
"Barbequing or sunbathing in your backyard shouldn't be a public event," said Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) in a statement on Monday. "People should be free from the worry of some high-tech peeping Tom technology violating one's privacy when in your own home."
Schumer noted that although Google Maps and Google Earth have used satellite imagery in the past, "reports have suggested" that both Google and Apple have upgraded their capabilities to aircraft-based photography that can see through windows and capture detailed images with four-inch resolution. Read more...