Trending: Disabling police tracking on Waze
Washington (AP) – Eileen Sullivan from The Associated Press reported that law enforcement is concerned that the popular Waze mobile traffic app by Google Inc., which provides real-time road conditions, can also be used to hunt and harm police.
Waze, purchased by Google for $966 million in 2013, is a combination of GPS navigation and social networking. They have fifty million users in 200 countries using the free service for warnings about nearby congestion, car accidents, speed traps, traffic cameras, construction zones, potholes, stalled vehicles or unsafe weather conditions.
Waze users mark police – who are generally working in public spaces – on maps without much distinction other than “visible” or “hidden.” Users see a police icon, but it’s not immediately clear whether police are there for a speed trap, a sobriety check or a lunch break.
To some in law enforcement, this feature amounts to a stalking app for people who want to harm police. They want Google to disable that feature. The growing concern is the latest twist in Google’s complicated relationship with government and law enforcement. It places the Internet giant, again, at the center of an ongoing global debate about public safety, consumer rights and privacy.
Do you think Waze should disable police tracking?
Image from waze.com
[image error]
