California Bill May be First State to Attempt Censorship of Detailed Imagery on Mapping Sites

Assemblyman Joel Anderson of San Diego is putting the bill forward to the state legislature. He was prompted by word of terrorists using tools like Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth. (I guess the world will continue this battle for some time…)

Interesting to me:

Pam Greenberg, who tracks Internet and technology issues for the National Conference of State Legislatures, said California appears to be the first state to consider imposing restrictions on Internet mapping sites. The bill is awaiting a committee assignment.

If I follow, the state would (if the bill passes) restrict images covering areas within the state including “clear, detailed images of schools, hospitals, churches and all government buildings.” The article points out many such images are already public - and hosted on the websites of these organizations.

- AP