January 24, 2008

UK Company Plans to Add High-Res Aerial Photos and Other Information to Large Database

If you were up to no good in the London open air last winter, start working up excuses: you might be on the web. This week, a company launches an online map of central London which includes aerial photography at four times the resolution of existing online maps: the equivalent of looking down from the 10th floor. The map, from 192.com, publishes aerial photography at a resolution of 4cm for London and 12.5cm for the rest of the UK. In the right conditions, images at this resolution are enough to identify individuals - a step that existing online mapping ventures such as Google Earth and Microsoft's Virtual Earth have so far been careful to avoid. The prospect is likely to alarm privacy campaigners. Dr David Wood, of the Surveillance Studies Network at Newcastle University, says he is worried by the power of such systems. "When you combine detailed mapping with demographic data, consumer data and particularly things like credit ratings, you end up with very powerful tools."

Sharper aerial pictures spark privacy fears, Guardian, January 24, 2008.