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New York Town Stops Using Google Earth to Spy on Rogue Pools

by Amar Toor on September 9, 2010 at 01:00 PM

google earth view of riverhead, ny
Over the course of the past few months, German politicians and privacy advocates have been waging war against Google as part of an initiative to ensure that citizens' homes aren't displayed on the site's Street View feature. Politicians in small town New York, on the other hand, have Google-related issues that concern a far more global phenomenon: swimming pools.

As the AP reports, council members in Riverhead, NY have now decided to stop using Google Earth satellite images to scour the region for illegal swimming pools. Town officials had reportedly been using the service to instantly locate pools that had never been properly registered with the municipal government. Since the plumbing, electrical work and fencing of such unregistered water holes may not meet state regulations, they can often pose serious threats to public safety. Because Google's satellite images show locations that can't be easily seen from public areas, however, Riverhead's council decided that it couldn't legally use the photos to prosecute violators. Granted, the decision probably won't affect most of the town's law-abiding swimmers, but Riverheaders should feel more comfortable knowing that Big Brother won't be watching the next time they drop their kids off at the pool.

Tags: google, google earth, GoogleEarth, government, NewYork, privacy, riverhead, satellite, swimming, SwimmingPool, top

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