Mumbai-based advocate Amit Karkhanis has filed a petition with the Bombay high court in India to have a “complete ban on Google Earth and similar sites like Wikimapia”, reports The Times of India. The petition comes in the wake of the November 26 massacre in Mumbai that left at least 138 people dead as a result of terrorist gunfire–which reportedly could have been averted with GPS.
The petition states that Google Earth provides anyone, terrorists included, detailed pictures of sensitive locations in India as well as precise navigational coordinates. This isn’t the first instance that a government has bristled at the opportunities LBS offers the general public.
Two years ago, former Indian president Abdul Kalam publicly expressed concern regarding sensitive locations being revealed on Google Earth. The parties reached an agreement last February to distort the pictures in question. In a more recent revelation, it was reported earlier this week that the Egyptian government forced Apple to disable the GPS in the latest-generation iPhone in order to sell it in the country.
Back on this side of the pond, Google Street View haters will be disappointed to know that the company doubled its coverage of the United States today. Maine, West Virginia, North Dakota and South Dakota all have their first Street View imagery available and across the US it seems Google has filled in close to all the remaining gaps.
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