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Google's Mapping Contest Draws Ire From Indian Government

Posted by timothy on from the you-can't-look-there dept.

hypnosec writes with news that India's Central Bureau of Investigation has ordered a preliminary enquiry (PE) against Google for violating Indian laws by mapping sensitive areas and defence installations in the country. As per the PE, registered on the basis of a complaint made by the Surveyor General of India's office to the Union Home Ministry, Google has been accused of organizing a mapping competition dubbed 'Mapathon' in February-March 2013 without taking prior permission from Survey of India, country's official mapping agency. The mapping competition required citizens to map their neighbourhoods, especially details related to hospitals and restaurants. The Survey of India (SoI), alarmed by the event, asked the company to share its event details. While going through the details the watchdog found that there were several coordinates having details of sensitive defence installations which are out of the public domain."

16 of 96 comments (clear)

  1. So, to summarize... by thieh · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "You didn't get a permit from us about writing a map, so we will ask you to share the map with us."

    1. Re:So, to summarize... by parkinglot777 · · Score: 2

      Vaccines in Pakistan? Do you have a link for me to read about it? Thanks.

      Simply google it... -- https://www.google.com/?gws_rd... -- and you will see many links for your reading.

    2. Re:So, to summarize... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      It's because there are too few planes in India and too few candidates to make the economics of flying schools work in India. The entire aviation sector in the country is probably less than what JFK handles.

      So, you see, it isn't really about permits. Its about economics of scale. Also, there is a huge sunk cost in airplanes like Cessna in the US which enables a pilot to get all the hours necessary for commercial certification.I was looking into all of this some years ago for when the aviation sector opened up in India. The cost of training outside of India was cheaper than the cost of flying in India due to the sunk cost or per hour lease rates of Cessna in India vs US.

      So, it's cheaper to rent a Cessna (more of them available outside of India) as opposed to the other option. Hope this helps clarify issues. Yes there is red tape around acquiring used aircraft and such for training. Why? Just like FAA, the Indian equivalent also has equally good rules on aircraft safety and what needs to be replaced when. So even if you acquire an used Cessna and move it to India, it will end up costing more.

      In effect, it's cheaper to learn where there is plenty of excess capacity already paid for by the middle class America of the 1970's. Now, I don't know how many in middle-class america can afford to fly now.

  2. oopsie... by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Someone didn't get his bribe!

  3. Get some priorities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Doesn't the Indian government have better things to do? Oh like feeding their hundred of millions of impoverished citizens or even building toilets so they don't shit outside everywhere. Or even solve the massive corruption they have.

    No wonder India is such a shithole of a country.

    1. Re:Get some priorities by someone1234 · · Score: 2

      You mean, other than letting a foreign company doing spy work in their country? LOL :)

      --
      Patents Drive Free Software as Hurricanes Drive Construction Industry
  4. Ignorance is no excuse ... by CaptainDork · · Score: 2

    "The company[Google], noting that it was not aware of any privacy issues, ..."

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    1. Re:Ignorance is no excuse ... by Entrope · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The government body trying to protect its turf from competition did not cite any privacy issues, either. It cited security issues, which of course it could not describe in detail because security.

      Did Google specifically solicit information about defense installations, perhaps as a particular example of hospitals or restaurants? If not, did Google have any way to know which information about which installations is considered secret? (Obviously, the government would never publish such a list for general consumption, because that would both reveal the data that they want to protect and distinguish the sensitive data from information that they consider non-sensitive.) Did Google republish this data, or is the perceived offense merely that Google has the data?

    2. Re:Ignorance is no excuse ... by pla · · Score: 3, Informative

      USA routinely tells google to hide sensitive areas and google complies voluntarily

      ...With the inherent irony that you can then use that hidden data specifically to find "sensitive" areas you might not have known about (just randomly load highest-zoom tiles until you find one with artificially degraded resolution) - Then pull up the same data at 1m resolution from the USGS quarter quad library.

      You want something hidden from space? Build it deep enough underground to hide its IR footprint. Attempting to hide things through censorship works sooo well - Just ask Babs S.

  5. Out of the public domain? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 4, Insightful

    out of the public domain

    If you can see it from public property and tell what it is, it's (effectively) in the public domain, isn't it?

    If it's supposed to be secret, and someone who shouldn't know where it is does, you've got a security leak.

    I'd say Google's doing them a favour. If any of their secret installations turn up on it, you know it's time to shut them down or move them.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    1. Re:Out of the public domain? by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Informative

      Except, I'm pretty sure there are plenty of places which are also censored or blurred from Google maps and the like.

      India is hardly the first country to do this, and there's a few US installations which are blurred out.

      Governments censor data, film at 11.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  6. Different country. Different rules. by sjbe · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you can see it from public property and tell what it is, it's (effectively) in the public domain, isn't it?

    Not necessarily. This isn't the United States. Different laws and customs applied differently. Your normal expectations regarding the law may not apply.

    I'd say Google's doing them a favour. If any of their secret installations turn up on it, you know it's time to shut them down or move them.

    Yeah... I'm sure that's exactly how they will see it too... [/sarcasm]

  7. Re:How much more? by Anne+Thwacks · · Score: 2

    Actually, hardly anyone believed it. They knew the politicians were lying, but could do nothing about it.

    --
    Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
  8. Re:Better be careful Google! by pla · · Score: 2

    Piss off India and your labor supply will come to an end!

    You promise?

    So how do I go about starting my own Indian mapping competition?


    / H1Bs GTFO.
    // Not your fault, but harder to deport Steve Balmer or The Zuck.

  9. Seriously, India... by scuzzlebutt · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Have you never heard of the Streisand Effect?

    --
    In C++, your friends can see your privates.
  10. Re:Better be careful Google! by Krishnoid · · Score: 2

    Must be too expensive to hire Indians...

    ... so they cut costs by Shanghai'ing them.

    I'll show myself out.