Publicizing Privacy Threats, Real And Imagined

"There is no such thing as bad publicity" goes the old adage, but sometimes casting the glare of publicity on non-issues can obscure real and pressing issues from public view. So it is with Senator Charles Schumer's (D-NY) comments yesterday over the threat to privacy posed by online mapping technologies such as Google Maps, Microsoft's Bing Maps, and Apple's forthcoming iOS Maps. "Sunbathing in your backyard shouldn't be a public event" said Schumer in a press release which raised the specter of Google, Microsoft, and Apple using "military-grade technology" to capture aerial photos for their next-generation mapping services.  

The problem with Sen. Schumer's remarks, as with the ongoing furor over Google Street View, is that they focus an inordinate amount of media and public attention on what in the scheme of things is a very minor threat to privacy. It is true that in the early days of Google Street View, some individuals were the subject of unwelcome attention