by Hrishikesh Samant, India on 8/16/2009
These rumblings about control over surveying and mapping are a regular
feature from the PRC. Have listed two other news items along with an
editorial
China to tighten control over foreign surveying, mapping.
31 August 2006
http://www.gisdevelopment.net/news/viewn.asp?id=GIS:N_fmicqlwnor
Curbs put on foreign hydrological activities from China.
10 May 2007
http://www.gisdevelopment.net/news/viewn.asp?id=GIS:N_nwgfxylrsh
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by Manu Parulekar, India on 8/16/2009
Mr. Samant, it is strange that you have listed two news items releted to China's 'control' policies in the GI domain, implying that you do not support their methods, but an editorial penned by you on the same issues has almost justified such a control- please check your weekly news letter editorial dated- 28/01/2008, which i am also attaching below. Please comment:
Do we need a 'geospatial nanny' ?
This week's top story - '...privacy fears..' - aerial photographs covering
parts of London with a resolution of 4 cm have been published on the web and
the service provider will also add age data...It is as sensational as any
piece of news can get - but I wonder how this will really be achieved. A
human face may be recognisable at such high resolutions but how does anyone
go about tagging the individual with his/her name, age etc on an aerial
photograph? This is at best a futuristic scenario - where every citizen of
London city would necessarily have a RFID implant and everyone's exactly
location would be monitored at every instant - Only then, if an aerial
photograph or scan was obtained and the exact time of this data acquisition
married with the 'personal location' would it be possible to positively
identify the human in the photograph. The question is - why go to such
lengths? The fifty thousand or so surveillance cameras watching London today
are anyways doing an 'excellent' job. So the www.192.com challenge of
'finding how much naughty stuff is happening' is a possibly a publicity
stunt to highlight their 'Search for people- businesses -maps' tag line.
Google Earth is facing flak from South Korea for magnanimously gifting
territories under its domain to North Korea... and the earlier faux pas of
labeling Seoul - 'Korea under Japanese rule' cannot be forgiven.
The above 'happenings' could justify some countries like China's State
Bureau of Surveying and Mapping working on - 'Suggestions on Increasing the
Supervision and Management of Mapping and Geographical Information
Websites'. If lack of self regulation and censorship are causing privacy or
ownership issues, then a 'geospatial net nanny' may be required.
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