Google Street View Gets Israeli Government's Nod

hypnosec writes "Israel's Justice Ministry has decided to give its approval to Google's Street View services to feature 360 degree images of the country's streets, according to a new, confirmed report. The ministry also assured that Tel Aviv's Law, Information and Technology Authority will cause no worries for Google from now on when it comes to deploying its sophisticated photography equipment in the streets, as well as in posting the photographs taken on its map service."

Re:

[ThisIsSaei]

Why is that? I'd assume that without security risk it would get the go-ahead. We're not talking about China/North Korea.

Re:

[drnb]

Because my first guess is that it is a security risk given the bad things that occasionally occur there, for example it simplifies the bad guy's preparation - no need to do things in person and possibly engage in suspicious behavior. So there must be some security benefit that I am missing.

Re:

[nospam007]

They'd just post 25 armed guards and bomb-detectors at each endangered location for a short time as the Google car drives by.

Re:

[MrL0G1C]

Yeah because the google staff have a long history of committing terrorist attacks, DUH.

Re:

[Ksevio]

That would be kind of funny to see the resulting images then - I'm thinking the same group of soldiers would be appearing in many parts of the city.

Re:

[Slash.research_Kat]

google street view bloopers are pretty funny :)

Re:I'm confused ...

[ThisIsSaei]

I think you're coming at this from a very Western Lens. (Well, I assume.)

Israel's approach to security isn't as generalized as to find taking pictures [as an isolated action] suspicious, and with the healthy tourism it wouldn't really be effective anyway. They employ more direct security strategies (profiling, fast-reaction, military presence, road-blocks in hot areas, etc) as a deterrent and response. The Hamas MO also doesn't seem to attack landmarks/buildings either; Rocket barrages, directly attacking bus-lines, and kidnapping soldiers on patrol don't require much in the way of intel pictures.

Re:

[drnb]

Western lens, absolutely. For example I was thinking exfiltration/escape routes, as a pilot may study terrain imagery to familiarize with possible routes. However on second thought the bad guys don't seem to need that so much.

Re:

[bsDaemon]

Suicide bombers don't really need to plan on evasion and escape. Just sayin'.

Re:

[drnb]

Western lens, absolutely. For example I was thinking exfiltration/escape routes, as a pilot may study terrain imagery to familiarize with possible routes. However on second thought the bad guys don't seem to need that so much.

Suicide bombers don't really need to plan on evasion and escape. Just sayin'.

I think we are both sayin that. :-)

Re:

[danish94]

Knowing how the street looks is not really an issue for a would be attacker. They know where the crowded places are, and information on bus (a primary target) movement and schedule is available online. so this is not much of risk, and not enough to disallow the street view. I would be less surprised to see it banned for privacy reasons that for security reasons.

Re:

[Opportunist]

This story is about Israel, not the USA.

Re:

[ThisIsSaei]

Ok? As far as daily life goes, the two countries are very close. Israel feels like a more... rude NYC.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, I know. It's hard to remember what it was like when things that weren't explicitly prohibited or dangerous were allowed by default. It's called "law and order". I'm afraid you've been subject to a police state for so long you've forgotten what it's like to not have to ask for permission, or to encounter "reason" when you do.

Israel has 1000 times greater exposure to security risk than America, however they see no reason to object to Google Street view, while America the brave is afraid someone might ph

Re:

[drnb]

Or maybe they see some security benefit to it. Your rant is hardly evidence to the contrary.

Re:I'm confused ...

[Anonymous Coward]

> I'm having a hard time figuring out how this improves security in Israel.

Israel is as secure as possible.

Your country is as paranoid as possible.

Big difference.

Re:

[danish94]

And why would google waste billions of dollar just to add israel to streetView? What benefit is there for google?

Re:

[AHuxley]

That feeling of a unique brand image around the world?
It also blocks any politically connected/protected/national champion/ex military start up/telco from doing maps locally and selling ads/telco cellphone ads/maps/deals.
A country without a Google maps is like a company/bureaucracy without MS Word. Its bad to let anyone ever fill the brand name void and create buzz. Best to cut a deal, any deal and stop any competition for cell phone/tablet tracking/local ads.
No directory assistance calls, call record

Re:

[throwfan]

How come no one has yet pointed out that both Sergey and Larry are both Jews, as a reason for those 'donations'? (Maybe Larry is more atheistic, but still.) And that the state of Israel itself is comprised of -- surprise -- Jews?

Re:I'm confused ...

[shilly]

What donations? Oh, you mean the donations that could have been made but for which there is no evidence, and whose existence or otherwise is nothing to do with the original article? Maybe that's why no-one has mentioned it. Besides you. Does that make you a nobody? Perhaps it does.

Re:

[GooberToo]

Google have probably donated billions of dollars to Israel.

This is, of course, an idiotic statement.

Israel's security exists only as a result of US funding.

This is, completely true. The US provides most of its aid to Israel and Egypt. Admittedly, I wouldn't say, "only." "Largely", is far more accurate.

they can track all the pacifists

[decora]

and other 'enemies of the state', conscientious objectors, etc.

obviously that will improve security.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Do your homework... Muslim kidnappers don't do it for ransom.

Mostly, they do it to exchange prisoners. I don't think Google has any Muslim prisoners. Do they?

Re:

[Hazel Bergeron]

If you're not an idiot then you acknowledge that Google is an information arm of the US government. Count the number of Muslim countries the US military has been contracted out to plunder and you have your answer.

But it wouldn't be effective.

Re:

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

They're going to be driving around Israel, not the West Bank.

Re:

[Octorian]

Except if you look at a local map, "The West Bank" doesn't really exist as a marked-off territory. That seems to be a creation of US/western maps. First, the area is locally called "Judea and Samaria." Second, the highway system runs right through it as though it were just another part of the country.

Re:

[shilly]

I'd be more interested if they could expose either the criminal non-crimes or the non-criminal crimes. Tautology is fun to see.

News?

[h4x0t]

Was it some big deal that google was not allowed to map streets via this method in Israel?

US restricts US companies' sat.photos of Israel

[Penguin]

There are some real bizarre laws out there. For instance, United States companies are restricted in the resolution of satellite imagery of Israel.

This is truly bizarre, albeit true [motherjones.com]. With the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act [nps.gov] in 1997, private companies in United States aren't allowed to provide high resolution satellite/aerial imagery of Israel. This restriction boggles my mind for a free country. Not that it matters much longer as other countries such as Turkey are going to provide high-resolution imagery of Israel in 2013.

It could be possible to construct a rudimentary "aerial" view by warping street view imagery (of course several areas and building roofs would not get into that picture) however. So yeah, there are some pretty weird restrictions out there.

Re:

[AJH16]

The issue comes from the conflict with Palestine. They are concerned about any highly accurate mapping that could be used for targeting attacks. Sure it's a little weird and probably mostly ineffective since my understanding is that the Palestinians lack anything with accurate guidance, but they may fear they will get something in the future. No doubt, they probably made a deal with Google to alter the accuracy of certain landmarks in exchange before giving approval.

Re:US restricts US companies' sat.photos of Israel

[ShaunC]

This restriction boggles my mind for a free country.

What AIPAC wants, AIPAC gets.

Ridiculous

[jDeepbeep]

Please take your zomg_jews_rule_teh_world!!!! conspiracy theories elsewhere. It's not helping, and frankly, it's really old and repetitive.

Re:

[jDeepbeep]

What a brave statement by an AC. Figures.

Re:

[schlachter]

makes sense to me...it's a matter of national security. Keep in mind that the Arabs/Palestinians have been targeting Israeli civilians constantly for over 100 yrs...and of course in the past 15 yrs especially so. We don't want to be handing intelligence info over to our enemies (i.e. our enemies b/c we are allied with Israel in defense of their nation).

Re:

[Sun]

I hate to break the series of misinformed replies you received, but the main objection by the Israeli government (residing, by and large, in Jerusalem, not Tel-Aviv) had to do with privacy. The conditions given to Google had to do with obscuring license plates and faces, and not much else.

Shachar

Do they still sniff emails and WLANs?

[Anonymous Coward]

Does Google still sniff all the wireless networks and collect all emails they can catch while they drive around, like they did in Finland?

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

And what kind of tracking software catches completely passive sniffers?

I would like to know the deal

[kubitus]

and what is written on the confident/top-secret agreements. ;-)

Re:

[nospam007]

"I guess that they meant to refer to Israel's capital, it's Jerusalem not Tel-Aviv"

It's funny that _all_ the embassies are in Tel-Aviv because the planet thinks otherwise.

Re:

[danish94]

Slashdot didn't do anything wrong, they quoted from the article.

Re:

[acoster]

Not so much "thinking otherwise" as "choosing somewhere not so controversial" (as there are no Palestinian claims to Tel Aviv). And also, until the Six Day War, Jerusalem was divided between Jordan and Israel (so not a nice place to put your new embassy).

Re:

[unixisc]

They could have put it in west Jerusalem, which was always Israel's. Nobody is being asked to put it on Temple Mount

Re:

[Svenne]

The Israeli Law, Information and Technology Authority is situated in Tel Aviv.

Re:

[unixisc]

A number of governments have offices headquartered in cities other than their capitals. That doesn't change their capitals. Like South Africa's capital is Pretoria, where the executive sits, but the legislature sits in Cape Town, and the judiciary in Bloemfontein. Israel's government sits in Jerusalem - both the Knesset, as well as the Prime Minister's office.

Political hot potato for Google?

[fantomas]

Given the amount of disputed territory claimed by Israel, is this a political hot potato for Google? Will the Google-cars be driving round streets that the local authorities then help with identifying? I can imagine situations where the Google image makers come back with maps and a local authority says "yes, this is called so-and-so Street, this is called this-and-that Street" and six months later when the images are published there's a big outcry because these streets have been known locally by Palestinian names, or the Google-vans have been driving round new settlement areas and map them as being Israeli land while other communities claim that this has been illegally acquired land.

Given the outcry when Google has innocently and accidently attributed a border feature / street to the wrong country in other places, I can imagine this is a very hot potato to be dealing with...

Re:Political hot potato for Google?

[danish94]

Google already has a map of israel with names of the streets. The disputed areas are beyond the green line and google will probably not go there at all.

Re:

[bjourne]

Lol, I don't know who would be suicidal enough to drive google street view vans in the occupied territories. I mean ambulances have been for allegedly containing terrorist weapons, what chances do you think a foreign spy vehicle has?

Re:

[shilly]

The spirit is willing but by God the English was weak. Try again but use simpler words. It looks like English isn't your first language, so keep your sentences short and simple and we might be able to understand you properly.

Re:

[shilly]

Oh, where to start.

I picked up but chose not to comment on the pretty tasteless "joke" comparison of Ashkenazi Jews with Nazis. Instead, I was commenting on "they dare to talk about "terrorist" in front of them..." which is an excitingly, erm, different form of English. I have no problems with people not writing perfectly, not by a long shot. But it does need to be sufficiently clear to be comprehensible.

It's ironic that you (implicitly) chastise me for picking up on his English and then go on to describe h

Re:

[martas]

Wait I'm confused, is this a really clever joke about grammar nazis, jews, and the word "Ashkenazi"? Probably not, but it'd be awesome if it were...

Re:

[Blaskowicz]

by your own arguments arabs living there for a few centuries have a more legitimate claim than foreigners coming from europe, russia, or north america.

Re:

[danish94]

Bullshit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatah%E2%80%93Hamas_conflict [wikipedia.org]

Re:

[schlachter]

can't they just have multiple names in google?
nearly all of the road signs in Israel are in both Hebrew and Arabic.

Dilemma

[dugeen]

Google v the Israeli government. Is there some way they can both lose?

This is the worst thing ever

[tryptogryphic]

Hell, they might as well put Google street-view cars in Tripoli or Iraq while they're at it; perfect targets for western homogenization hating RPG practice.

I'm all about like, pioneering the way forward, but this seems a little brazen for Google given the political climate and constant, you know...rocket fire between Israel and Palestine...but, what do I know...I'm just a humble developer.

Re:

[Knave75]

.rocket fire between Israel and Palestine....

The rocket fire only goes one way. "Between" implies that the Palestinians fire rockets at civilians, and that Israel responds by blindly launching rockets back at the Palestinians.

Anyhow, back on topic. Currently, the rocket fire is inadequate. It is not beyond imagining that google street view could enhance the accuracy and lethality of Palestinian rocket fire, which would make a restriction make perfect sense. I assume that it has been determined by Israel that, despite what I just said in the

may help with peace...

[schlachter]

This is kinda cool. It could help with peace efforts. Israeli's have been so vilified by arab governments that they don't' even imagine them as human beings. Seeing them in their daily lives walking about chatting, with kids and friends...should help to convey that we're all just people and we should get along. Also Arabs will see how well Israeli's who are Arab live within the country and may see that coexistence is possible.