(Image Source: PC Magazine )
 

BY MATTHEW PICHT

ANCHOR JASMINE BAILEY

As both Google and Apple gear up for new satellite mapping initiatives, a U.S. Senator wants to put on the brakes. WTKR has more.
 

“That’s Senator Charles Schumer, who says the tech firm’s 3D planes could show items as small as four inches inside your home.”


In a letter to both companies, Senator Schumer asked the tech giants to restrict their 3D mapping endeavours, citing privacy rights and national security concerns. TechCrunch has the full text of the letter, which asks Google and Apple to notify communities ahead of mapping, with an opt-out option for property owners who don’t want their homes surveilled.
 

Speaking to Fox News , Schumer says he would like to work with both companies to safeguard against privacy intrusions.

“We have to make sure that there is a balance. I am very hopeful, particularly with Google, that there will be. I look forward to talking with both companies.”

A Google spokeswoman says the company’s 3D maps will be no more detailed than the 2D images already available and that the company has never used military-grade spy planes. Talking Points Memo thinks they’ve found the source of the disconnect.

“ Schumer’s concerns seem to spring from a questionably-sourced report in The Daily Mail that the companies were using such ‘military-grade’ spy planes to create their maps. But in an earlier report from Reuters ...there was no mention of ‘military grade’ technology...”

On CNN , Wired’s Noah Shachtman borrowed a line from President Obama to describe Senator Schumer’s worries.
 

“I think Senator Schumer might be a little ahead of his skis here. I don’t think the surveillance technology is as grim and dystopian as Senator Schumer would make out.”