10.29.2006

BBC: Power of maps


BBC posting about the power of maps notes how useful mapping and aerial imagery can be, as well as the usual worries about invasions of privacy.

One police department in the US would like to superimpose GPS coordinates of its officers on maps.

"We have found what we believe is just the right balance between being able to see the things we need to see to save lives, and not being able to invade privacy in any way," said Dante Pennacchia from Pictometry.

"So we can't see faces, we can't see number plates, we can't identify a person. And we don't want to."

I have been arguing for a while that opposing privacy to functionality/security is a losing battle but you do notice that that's the way it's always framed.

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