Removal of GSV functionality near sites of terror activity?

[TR69]

After the church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas earlier today, I went to Google Maps to look at the town. I noticed that the area around the church was not available in Street View. I'm guessing that this is not a coincidence. Has this been a Google policy for a while now? Interesting.

[roadman65]

The Verazano Bridge in NYC has always had it not shown, and that is not ever been a shooting site, although Al Sharpton did stop traffic on it once for protesting with a bridge march either the Cops in Baltimore or Tulsa, but that is as controversial as that crossing has gotten.

[sbeaver44]

I imagine that was related to the (former?) MTA policy about no photo/no video which was signposted on every MTA bridge

Nexus 6P

[jeffandnicole]

I imagine that was related to the (former?) MTA policy about no photo/no video which was signposted on every MTA bridge

Nexus 6P

Companies like Google can easily put in a request to take pics of video.  It may be denied, of course.

[bzakharin]

I imagine that was related to the (former?) MTA policy about no photo/no video which was signposted on every MTA bridge

Nexus 6P

Companies like Google can easily put in a request to take pics of video.  It may be denied, of course.

Is it just MTA or all NYC bridges? There's no GSV for the GWB, Outerbridge, or Goethals either. The tunnels have it, though.

[1995hoo]

I imagine that was related to the (former?) MTA policy about no photo/no video which was signposted on every MTA bridge

Nexus 6P

Companies like Google can easily put in a request to take pics of video.  It may be denied, of course.

Is it just MTA or all NYC bridges? There's no GSV for the GWB, Outerbridge, or Goethals either. The tunnels have it, though.

When I looked earlier today, the Verrazano and GW Bridges didn't have it. Neither did the Battery Tunnel. But the other bridges, and the Midtown Tunnel, did.

[roadman65]

Tunnels are a better target for terrorism I would think.

[ibagli]

Maybe someone to do with the church submitted a request to be removed from Street View, and due to the circumstances Google just pulled the affected images until the blur could be added.

[pumpkineater2]

The side yard of the house in Watertown, MA where one of the Boston bombing suspects was captured, is blurred out:https://goo.gl/maps/vFfun6Bc3Yy

[kalvado]

Tunnels are a better target for terrorism I would think.

I am not sure what was the original reason for "no photo". I can imagine suicide prevention coming into play for bridges - but not tunnels.
But overall looks like a lot of pulling images is a patchwork of some random ideas by random people, and pretty meaningless given all dashcams and cell phones out there.

At some point, Empire State Plaza in Albany was blurred on Google satellite view (no street view back then). Probably 9/11 fears.. Unblocked by now...

[kkt]

If a suicide bomber blew up a truck full of explosives, in a tunnel would probably kill more people.  On a bridge, the heat and force of the explosion would travel mostly upward.  In a tunnel, it travels along the tunnel where it can engulf more other vehicles.  See the Caldecott Tunnel gasoline truck explosion.

[NE2]

If you can't see street view photos of the tunnel you can't blow it up.

[kalvado]

If you can't see street view photos of the tunnel you can't blow it up.

So all those having eyes are potential terrorists!

[kphoger]

If you can't see street view photos of the tunnel you can't blow it up.

So all those having eyes are potential terrorists!

Well, yes!  And also those not having eyes.