Good grief! I'm posting, and from the US no less!
But seriously, both Roger and Paul are correct... That sounds like exactly the kind of poorly thought out double-speak that is used by half-witted IT people who are not quite sure what they are doing. This is not to say that such is necessarily the case, but it certainly sounds that way... and having been such a person myself... I feel I can say that with a certain degree of confidence.
More to the point, however, the issues surrounding RIPA can clearly be seen in the title of the Act - notably investigatory. If one were particularly obtuse, it could be argued that the use of Google Earth to examine or investigate specific issues would be a violation of certain civil liberties. Such an argument is based on the use of real-time satellite surveillance by security and police forces. It certainly does not relate to non-real time resources that are availible to any tom, dick or Harry who has the internet.
To argue that Google Earth... rightly pointed out to be a non-real-time mapping tool... is a form of surveillance is to argue that we cannot use maps of any kind because they show representations of the world. It would also mean, by the way, that the police would be unable to use television broadcasts, not to mention closed circuit TV, in their day to day routines.
In effect, to the greatest extent of my knowledge, neither the British nor any other government has yet limited themselves in their ability to use public ally available resources to actively investigate or otherwise monitor people, events, properties or the like. The relevant parts of RIPA were set up to prevent the government from launching satellites with high resolution optics and IR sensors from spying on the populace.
In this case, odds are someone in IT has gotten twitchy about having something they don't know about and can't regulate being available on their network, and as Roger suggested, looking desperately for reasons they could stop it. Concerns regarding the use of such software, are not, by the way, completely invalid. I for one, am uncertain as to issues regarding the vulnerability to backdoor and virus-like attacks that having the software available would create. That has nothing to do with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.
Hope this helps.
Oh and by the way Roger... no it doesn't sound cynical to suggest that... what would be cynical is to suggest that the reason they are doing it is that they have stock in Microsoft and so are trying to limit the competition.
________________________________
From: Issues related to Historic Environment Records on behalf of THOMAS, Roger M
Sent: Mon 03/07/2006 11:46
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act - Help?
Dear All
I've looked very briefly at the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 It seems to be a wide-ranging act which confers powers of investigation, surveillance etc on various authorities, but requires the use of those powers to be lawful and properly authorised. Part II (concerned with 'surveillance') is perhaps what the South Yorkshire IT people are worried about.
Part II seems to be largely concerned with the privacy of people, rather than of property per se. As Google Earth doesn't provide 'real-time' imagery (and actually uses 'historic'. i.e. old, images), it's perhaps a little difficult to see how it could be used for 'surveillance' in what seems to be the sense contemplated by the Act.
Would it be unduly cynical to think that anyone might be casting around for reasons, however thin, to refuse access to Google Earth?
You could always bounce the matter back to your IT people, and ask whether that means that any use of existing aerial photography (or of any existing photography at all) could contravene the Act? All Google Earth does is to make existing cover more easily accessible (and e.g. Multimap does just the same), and aerial photography is no different in principle - only in extent and vantage point - from e.g. a photo taken from a hill, or even looking down a street. Or maybe asking that question that would be tempting fate ..
Roger M Thomas
________________________________
From: Issues related to Historic Environment Records on behalf of [log in to unmask]
Sent: Mon 03/07/2006 11:01
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act - Help?
Dear List,
Could any of you help me I wonder? Until recently our service has been using
Google Earth. Our access was suddenly suspended by Corporate IT and I have
been trying to negotiate getting it back. They have given numerous reasons
for the suspension and listed a number of things that need to be addressed
before they will restore Google Earth. One of these points reads as follows:
"There is a worrying possibility that Google Earth images could be used for
surveillance as covered by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
(RIPA). There is no problem with that, provided the Act is complied with.
That isn't easy. Steps would need to be taken to make sure that this doesn't
arise".
I have to confess to complete ignorance of the Regulation of Investigatory
Powers Act. Can anyone enlighten me with a short summary or explain to me
its relevance to aerial photography?
Many thanks,
Louisa
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Louisa Matthews
Assistant Archaeologist (SMR)
South Yorkshire Archaeology Service
Development Services, Howden House, 1 Union Street, Sheffield, S1 2SH
Tel.: 0114 273 6428 Fax.: 0114 273 5002
Email: [log in to unmask]
http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/syas
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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