When Google Earth was launched, it was thought to most to be a nice little novelty so you can view the Empire State Building without the air fare. Now, it is frightening many nations.

Google Earth is nothing new debuting last summer, replacing Keyhole, a product Google had acquired. I used Keyhole for a month, then my free trial ran out. When it was launched as Google Earth it had various enhancements and was free.

Looking at my initial reactions in June this year (post here), I found it really great. This was due to fact it is/was.

It is very common now, yet still great. My favourite thing is making my own effects up, coming into 3D cities at certains angles, at certain zooms.

The reason it is frightening so many nation states is that it can damage their national security; showing military bases (sea Area 51 photo to the right), airports and border points. Sometimes, these are even in high details.

‘Terrorists don’t need to reconnoiter their target. Now an American company is working for them.’

Currently, all these countries can do is to protest, and ask Google to remove these images. America’s allies feel slightly concerned for their security with some photos, which is understandable for a country such as South Korea.

The United States Government has various rights other don’t. These include such things that any shot of Israel must be made at a fairly low resolution, the right to remove any image of national security and a compulsory 24hrs delay on the day it is taken to the day it is published.

I still think it is important not to just disregard Google Earth as a risk to (inter)national security. Google Earth is very useful for doing genuine tasks, such as gaining longitudes and latitudes. And the Layers are fantastic, it is nice to be able to see such things as volcanoes, earthquakes… grocery shops. Google Earth isn’t a fantastic educational tool, but a great way to burn a few minutes!

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