It might be getting redundant that I take positions like this, but these kind of blanket statements irk me to no end.
A California legislator, Joel Anderson, is proposing a law that would require Google to censor it’s Google Earth program for certain structures, like houses of worship or government buildings, so that details like air ducts aren’t visible on the top.The reasoning?
Terrorists in the Mumbai attacks last year used Google Earth to help plan their attacks and it can reasonably argued that terrorists in the future will try to do the same. But when asked in a CNET interview about about who would do that, he brings out this blanket statement:
Q: Isn’t the real threat here the motivation of people who look to commit heinous acts, rather than the technology they use?
Anderson: I’m not against the technology; it’s fantastic. But we’re in an evolving world and we have to change our course as it changes. I’m all for online mapping, but knowing where the air ducts are in an air shaft is not necessary for me to navigate in the city. Who wants to know that level of detail? Bad people do.
Hear that America? If you have eyes and you’ve used Google Earth, you’re a bad person and the further implication is that you’re a terrorist. I like the idea and think it has good basis, but because Joel Anderson has called me a bad person for being curious about what my house looks like from above, I will never in my life support any legislation of this kind.
Thanks Joel, you sure know how to rally support for your causes!
(For future reference, I will blog about blanket statements like these, because they are very stupid and highly presumptuous and anyone in government or the media who makes them is probably a very pompous and pretentious individual and they should be called out on it. Already I rank former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and CNBC’s Rick Santelli in this category. Joel Anderson, welcome to the club!)