Top US Senator to Apple, Google: 'Curb your spy planes'

Top US Senator to Apple, Google: 'Curb your spy planes'

www.theregister.co.uk

One week after Apple announced it was booting Google Maps from iOS and photographing the world with its own aerial fleet, a top US Senator has written to both companies expressing concern over their "military-grade spy planes."

"Barbequing or sunbathing in your backyard shouldn't be a public event," said Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) in a statement on Monday. "People should be free from the worry of some high-tech peeping Tom technology violating one's privacy when in your own home."

(visit the link for the full news article)

With all the talk and attention surrounding the use of drones over the US by law enforcement, Google an Apple seem to slipped beneath the radar.

While I applaud Schumer for bringing some media attention to the issue of non-governmental agencies use of "military-grade" spy drones, I also think it's sorta like the pot calling the kettle 'black'.

Personally, I don't think that either type of unwarranted surveillance over US skies should be permissible.

www.theregister.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

EDIT: Here's a link to Schumer's complete press release.

reply to post by draco49


I don't see the government doing anything to stop the military, so why should they stop these companies? Google's aerial view feature is quite a neat development. It doesn't allow individuals to be easily identified, the feature isn't live streaming, you can't zoom in on faces, and they're certainly not loaded with lethal weaponry.

If they're going to complain about the private sector doing this, they need to stop doing it themselves. If you're concerned about privacy, these are the least of your concerns. You need to be watching your phones and computers before you have to worry about a google plane spying on you.

Somehow I feel that part of the outrage is that such services allow ordinary citizens to see the mansions many politicians live in. In the past a long road with a gate or gated community was enough to keep their mansions out of public view.

reply to post by Mapkar


So you say because government is doing it, private sector should be able to do it as well?!

Originally posted by Mapkar
reply to post by draco49

 

I don't see the government doing anything to stop the military, so why should they stop these companies? Google's aerial view feature is quite a neat development. It doesn't allow individuals to be easily identified, the feature isn't live streaming, you can't zoom in on faces, and they're certainly not loaded with lethal weaponry.

My point, exactly, is that the government (by way of Schumer) is being awfully hypocritical. That aspect aside, I think if these non-government surveillance technologies have the imaging capability alleged, then some sort of restrictions, such as the ones proposed by Schumer, should be in place. Yes, the tech is cool, but personal privacy and the ability of such technology to be abused in ways that violate the US Constitution should be addressed.

If they're going to complain about the private sector doing this, they need to stop doing it themselves. If you're concerned about privacy, these are the least of your concerns. You need to be watching your phones and computers before you have to worry about a google plane spying on you.

I don't disagree. However, vigilance in ensuring our civil liberties must be across the board, and not focused on one issue. Of course there are other areas of concern (i.e. cell phone and Internet communications), but it would be foolish to ignore this merely because it may be the least of my concerns.

Originally posted by SuperFrog
reply to post by Mapkar

 

So you say because government is doing it, private sector should be able to do it as well?!

why not rephrase that:
are you saying governments and the military are the only ones who should have access to
highly accurate maps and satellite images?


i say no

Google and Apple to US Government: Curb your spy planes first.

reply to post by SuperFrog


How do you think the government does it? They do it with google, facebook, twitter, and so on. The government has privatized the spying to corporations. And the data they now collect they are also selling to the highest bidder and the government is trying to stop it. Just take Facebook they started selling data to corporations so they could track employees and what employees say about them and started firing them. So the government said we ant no part of this were pulling our InQtel funding and now you have to go public. Well the corporations knew facebook had no more government funding and the stock dropped like a rock. Its nothing with out government funding. Google will find the same thing out if they cross the line. Do you think it was google who wanted all data gathhered in drive bys in the google cars? They grabbed everthing from pictures to wifi to cell phones cable vision and internet in a split second. So the government would have a building a house to link all the different traffic to.

Originally posted by SuperFrog
reply to post by Mapkar

 

So you say because government is doing it, private sector should be able to do it as well?!

Absolutely. Isn't that the whole point of the 2nd Amendment? If it is good for the goose, it is good for the gander. Our nation was not meant to have a governmental elite. Why in the hell have the misguided People begun believing it was?

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Which could be taken to mean that any citizen might "operate" a spy drone; within the context of the law; if corporations (who are people too) can.

Yet somehow, I do not believe any permits will be forthcoming.

Imagine more 'citizen' content in media.... nipping at heels of the authorities with each misstep? I'm thinking since I can imagine it, so can they.

Shame that. They have to hide from us, while spying on us. "Fascist creep" indeed.

Originally posted by Maxmars
reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

 

Which could be taken to mean that any citizen might "operate" a spy drone; within the context of the law; if corporations (who are people too) can.

Yet somehow, I do not believe any permits will be forthcoming.

Imagine more 'citizen' content in media.... nipping at heels of the authorities with each misstep? I'm thinking since I can imagine it, so can they.

Shame that. They have to hide from us, while spying on us. "Fascist creep" indeed.

I am not one to really enjoy the use of fallacy in thinking, but in this case it is a valid use I think worthy of consideration. So, having said that, I will employ something akin to "begging the question"

I believe that the 2nd Amendment was SUPPOSED to keep government honest by arming the citizens with the same weaponry. That, however, is an impossibility without some major soul searching by humanity at large. Once the nuke was brought into being, we were left with the obvious conclusion that THe People should not be permitted to have a nuke.

Of course, It is my belief that no human should have a nuke. It is a device for murder on a scale wholly unimaginable by any other force, save the Universe itself.

So, when I point out the purpose of the 2nd Amendment, we have to keep in mind that humanity outgrew that Amendment when we decided that we just could not kill enough people fast enough, and found a weapon that could

This discussion, to be honest, is one that I would love to see happen. I don't think ATS is the venue for it, but perhaps it is.

reply to post by draco49


This is utter hypocrisy. The US government is labeling the entire population as potential criminals needing to be monitored and controlled, and they will be using far more dangerous equipment than Google.

At the same time, I agree with the sentiment here. If Google were flying over my street and taking photos I would be shooting that f'er down!

Neither should be watching the public from the air. Neither have the authority to be using the public in this way. I'm actually quite shocked that the American people are allowing either to do this.

Originally posted by THE_PROFESSIONAL
Google and Apple to US Government: Curb your spy planes first.

Though I don't often agree with you, on this one, you hit the nail on the head. I bet Schummer is all for the various drones our Government plans to fly above our heads.

reply to post by draco49


That's what I'm saying, although I didn't articulate it very well since typing on a phone is a tad tedious. Here's the thing, people often get caught up in these sorts of discussions about something new and forget about what's already going on. Now that someone pointed a finger at Google and Apple we've got the "hate the private companies and their technology" bandwagon, and no one remembers the fact that the very technology we use day to day can actively be checked on. Google and Apple both work on a non-live basis, they sample the images, process them, and then integrate them into their products. Yes it's getting faster, but it's not live streaming you whilst you suntan on the lawn behind your house. This sort of technology isn't a non-concern, it's just not the biggest one we have right now. Can that change? Oh yes it can! But, for now it's not the worst thing out there.

reply to post by SuperFrog


Actually, yes. Our government should be held accountable to the same laws and regulations as our private corporations in a domestic situation. If I can send a remote controlled plane to take pictures of something, then the government shouldn't have the right to do it either. The government needs to understand that we're not ants under the magnifying glass, they live among us and with enough provocation people will eventually bite back.


reply to post by DerepentLEstranger


I agree. We should have a right to the same level of detail in our imagery and maps as they do. Since, the government is supposed to be of the people. I don't really know if it's a good idea for a google to be carrying something like a Hellfire missile, but cameras? Sure, I don't mind. I mean, the government is busy snapping away anyways, why not let us have some pictures of them too?

Originally posted by pavil

Originally posted by THE_PROFESSIONAL
Google and Apple to US Government: Curb your spy planes first.

Though I don't often agree with you, on this one, you hit the nail on the head. I bet Schummer is all for the various drones our Government plans to fly above our heads.

I bet you're right. And, I bet he's only making this comment to play on the fears people already have about drones to make it look like he's on their side. Remember, it is election year after all.

reply to post by Kaploink


I think you hit the nail on the head there. Can't have the people knowing where they live right? A bit too late for that though, maybe now these retards see how most of us feel, now that the monsters they were feeding are breathing down their necks as well. They outgrew the cages, and are very hungry.

I'm more worried about the gov spying on me honestly.

Google doesn't have swap teams and people with large guns that can kick down my door and steal my property and harm my family.

So their spying is a bit inconsequential, even though it's somewhat wrong, but that's the price you pay for technology these days I suppose.

How much freedom are YOU willing to give up for great maps service on your phone?

~Tenth

This is coming from someone from the government that wants to put drones in the air to keep an eye on their own citizens in the guise of keeping us safe!

That's not a breech of our privacy?

How is that any different than what Apple and Google wants to do?

At least Apple and Google will show us the info that they gather.

Makes me shutter to think about what the government wants to do with the info their spy drones gathers on us.

reply to post by mikemck1976


Does apple and google show you what they collect? All satellite images are filtered and down grounded by the government policies used. And I never seen any data they collected from the google cars besides the street view pictures.




techcrunch.com...

So how did this happen? Quite simply, it was a mistake. In 2006 an engineer working on an experimental WiFi project wrote a piece of code that sampled all categories of publicly broadcast WiFi data. A year later, when our mobile team started a project to collect basic WiFi network data like SSID information and MAC addresses using Google’s Street View cars, they included that code in their software—although the project leaders did not want, and had no intention of using, payload data.

As soon as we became aware of this problem, we grounded our Street View cars and segregated the data on our network, which we then disconnected to make it inaccessible. We want to delete this data as soon as possible, and are currently reaching out to regulators in the relevant countries about how to quickly dispose of it.

Maintaining people’s trust is crucial to everything we do, and in this case we fell short. So we will be:
Asking a third party to review the software at issue, how it worked and what data it gathered, as well as to confirm that we deleted the data appropriately; and
Internally reviewing our procedures to ensure that our controls are sufficiently robust to address these kinds of problems in the future.
In addition, given the concerns raised, we have decided that it’s best to stop our Street View cars collecting WiFi network data entirely.

They collect every thing that puts out a signal when they drive by. cell phones bluetooth wifi internet cable tv all signals and data on those signals. Email passwords mac addresses everything. And take a picture of where it came from. Your house your business and so on.

"and are currently reaching out to regulators in the relevant countries about how to quickly dispose of it" That should say offered all the data forsale to the governments where the data was collected. They spy for the governments and the governments complain if they try to sell it to the highest bidders or other corporations.