are tiny computer chips that can be embedded in identify cards or in people’s skin and can be read by devices at a great distance without the person knowing about it. The State Department has already embedded RFID tags in all new passports and the Department of Homeland Security is considering its use in other travel documents and identification cards.
Then there is Google Earth and Street View, a program that allows anyone with a computer and the Internet to download highly-detailed pictures of city streets, businesses and private homes. Some have complained about being photographed by satellites and then having their image posted online for anyone to see.
“It’s kind of cool to be able to see your house or your parents’ house, but I can see where people might have a problem with it,” said Chris Chavez, a college student who was Christmas shopping at the Santa Monica Place mall this week. “It’s like, we all expect to have some level of privacy, particularly in our own homes. I don’t know how I’d feel about it, but I could understand why someone wouldn’t want people looking into their backyards.
“Your home is your sanctuary, but it’s beginning to feel like that isn’t the case anymore.”
Privacy International, a human rights group focused on privacy issues, called Google Earth and Street View “hostile to privacy,” however executives with the search engine said the technology is actually changing the world for the better by helping Iraqis navigate through the sectarian neighborhoods of Baghdad to provide supplies to embattled residents, or by tracking the effects of global warming on the environment.
“Google Earth is built from information that is already available from both commercial and public sources,” said Google spokesperson Kate Hurowitz. “The same information is available to anyone who flies over or drives by a piece of property. We believe that the benefits of access to Google Earth for such valuable purposes far outweighs any negatives from potential abuse.
“Google’s freely available technology has been used for vital purposes ranging from fighting forest fires to emergency response, rescue, and relief in natural disasters such as the Kashmir Earthquake relief efforts and the Mithi River Floodplain Project,” Hurowitz added. “Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath demonstrated the powerful utility of Google Earth’s images, as rescuers have reported that they were able to save lives thanks to Google Earth.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 1, 2007. Read the original PDF.