Res Communis

Saudi Arabia to Monitor Google Earth

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

From Asharq Alawsat (hat tip Spatial Law and Policy Blog)::

Saudi Arabia: Government to Monitor Google Earth

15/04/2010

By Turki Al-Saheil

Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat- The Shura Council’s Committee for Transport, Communication and Information Technology has revealed that the Saudi Arabian government has formed a governmental team made up of 3 governmental agencies to monitor the maps offered by Google Earth and ensure that these do not include images of military sites or other sensitive areas.

This was revealed after national security become a subject of concern to a number of Shura Council deputies, and they expressed fears that satellite imaging of the earth could be used to transgress Saudi Arabia’s national security.

During the annual meeting to discuss the yearly Committee for Transport, Communication and Information Technology report, Shura Council deputy Abdul-Rahman al-Atawi called for “a special system to protect…privacy to be put in place.” He justified his demand for this system by saying that it is in order to ensure that intelligence agencies and terrorist groups do not utilize sensitive satellite imagery [in their operations]. . . . [Full Story]