Senator Schumer to Google and Apple: Don't Be a Peeping Tom!

Coming on the heels of Senator Rand (R-KY) introducing legislation earlier this month that would require police to obtain a warrant before using an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) to conduct surveillance (See: Preserving Freedom From Unwarranted Surveillance Act of 2012), Senator Schumer (D-NY) has recently warned Google, Apple, and others about their current and future plans to collect aerial imagery.  Of specific concern are emerging systems that will deliver imagery to the public that is as accurate as previously found only in the classified world. A thought which has lead Senator Schumer to level the following warning: Don't Be a Peeping Tom!  For more on this development, use the appropriate link below:

• Google Ogles: Senator Schumer Fears Highly Detailed Spy-plane Maps (Fox News)
• Schumer: New Apple and Google Plans to Use Military-Grade Spy Planes to Map Communities and Publish Images Could Cause Unprecedented Invasion of Privacy; Technology Strong Enough to See Through Windows and Even Catch Sun Bathers in Back Yards (Senator Schumer Press Release)

Comment: It's going to be a fine line we walk going forward.  On the one hand, the technology Senator Schumer is concerned about serves the common good - particularly so when it comes to emergency preparedness and response.  On the other hand, in order to safeguard personal privacy, there needs to be limits on how that technology is used.  So it's a good thing Senator Schumer and others on the Hill are paying attention now, because in the years going forward, they are going to have a lot of work to do defining those boundaries.