Curious how the military calls this an "incident," without acknowledging their role in letting it happen in the first place.
They granted entry to a civilian vehicle with a camera on top.
Pentagon bans Google map-makers
The US defence department has banned the giant internet search engine Google from filming inside and making detailed studies of US military bases.
Close-up, ground-level imagery of US military sites posed a "potential threat" to security, it said.
The move follows the discovery of images of the Fort Sam Houston army base in Texas on Google Maps.
A Google spokesman said that where the US military had expressed concerns, images had been removed.
Google has now been barred from filming and conducting detailed studies of bases, following the discovery of detailed, three-dimensional panoramas online - and in particular, views of the Texan base.
"Images include 360-degree views of the covered area to include access control points, barriers, headquarters, facilities and community areas," said the defence department in a statement quoted by AFP news agency.
It said such detailed mapping could pose a threat.
Google spokesman Larry Yu said the decision by a Google team to enter the Texas base, which is in San Antonio, and undertake a detailed survey, had been "a mistake".
He told the BBC that it was "not our policy to request access to military installations, but in this instance the operator of the vehicle with the camera on top - which is how we go about capturing imagery for Street-View - requested permission to access a military installation, was given access, and after learning of the incident we quickly removed the imagery".
Individuals and governments
Military officials are currently looking into exactly what imagery is available - though it may not be able to order its removal if images are taken from public streets.
Among the popular mapping services offered by Google are Street View, which allows web users to "drive" along virtual US landscapes with ground-level views, and Google Earth, which offers detailed satellite and 3D images of locations around the world.
In this case, it was imagery offered on Street View that caused the concern.
But both have provoked complaints - from individuals depicted in the images and from governments concerned that satellite images could compromise security.
Gary Ross, a spokesman for the US Northern Command, told AFP that although such services could be useful, "there has to be a balance".
But Mr Yu said Google would listen to concerns about privacy and security.
"We try to have a compliant image removal policy - not only relative to the military but to consumers also," said Mr Yu.
"If people have concerns, they should contact us."
Sidebar:
'SPY' IN THE SKY
Mar 2008: Pentagon bans Google map-makers filming inside military bases
Feb 2008: Heathrow expansion protesters use Google Earth (GE) to plan House of Commons rooftop demo
Oct 2007: Al-Aqsa Martyrs' brigade reportedly using GE to plot rocket attacks on Israel
July 2007: New Chinese Jin-class nuclear sub spotted in port by users of GE
Feb 2007: India demands sensitive sites be blurred amid concern over extremists
Aug 2006: Morrocco begins blocking access to GE, giving no reason
Dec 2005: GE obscures view of Washington mansion of Vice-President Dick Cheney
Aug 2005: South Korea voices "security concerns" at images of its military bases and presidential mansion
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7282635.stmPublished: 2008/03/07 11:07:51 GMT
© BBC MMVIII[/tt]
American Forces Press Service
Street-View Image-Gathering Banned on Military Installations
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 7, 2008 – A new Defense Department policy prohibits the commercial gathering of detailed street-view imagery on U.S. military bases and installations.
U.S. Northern Command issued the policy message Feb. 28 after detailed images of Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio, appeared on the Google Map Web site, said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Gary Ross, a NORTHCOM spokesman.
Google Corp. representatives had entered the post with permission and taken the images with roof-mounted recording equipment, according to the policy message.
Google Earth’s Street View Web site revealed 360-degree detailed imagery of the post, including headquarters locations, access and control points, barriers, facilities and communal areas, Ross said. “This poses a serious operational risk to our force-protection effort,” Ross said.
Google reportedly has removed the images from the Web site, he said.
Concerned that such imagery could be used to inflict harm on U.S. personnel or facilities, NORTHCOM put out guidance for all military installations banning all commercial image-collecting as soon as it became aware of the Fort Sam Houston incident, Ross said. That guidance is being forwarded throughout the Defense Department by the services and defense agencies.
In addition to banning any future commercial image collection, the guidance also requires anyone aware of a similar incident to report it immediately to installation officials.
The Fort Sam Houston incident isn’t isolated, Ross said. Similar filming incidents have occurred at two nonsecured former bases closed due to Base Realignment and Closure Commission efforts. One, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind., was closed as part of the 1991 round of BRAC closures, but still houses the Defense Finance and Accounting Service Indianapolis, as well as U.S. Army Reserve and Indiana National Guard units. Another, the former Treasure Island Naval Base, in San Francisco, was turned over to local government control in 1996, but is still owned by the Navy.
Equally disturbing, Ross said, is filming known to have occurred at military housing areas outside the secured areas of Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., and the U.S. Naval Training Center San Diego. Ross said he doesn’t know whether that imagery ever was posted on the Internet.
