Steve Lackow wrote:
...But if it were a GIS or GIS component and not a printer
driver, that would be another story. GIS software is classified
as a munition, and that could not be sent to Cuba under US law.
-- Steve
Yep, and companies that sell high-resolution imagery here in the
US fall under the restrictions of "weapons dealers," and there's
a list of places where they can't sell it. Also because of
weaknesses and discrepancies in some countries' copyright laws
you can't ship MapInfo to a lot of places without a hardware key,
and due to certain international trade restrictions there are
some places where you can't ship MapInfo to at all.
Other countries have their own laws. I hear that in India,
possession of DEM data of that country is a serious crime. It's
also against the law (or it was recently) to take aerial pictures
of Italy even from the seat of a commercial jet. Once when I was
flying into the Islamabad airport (Pakistan), they closed all the
window shades on the jet as we got close enough to see anything.
Guards with machine guns were stationed around as we de-planed so
maybe it was hotter than normal in Kashmir then, but my point is
you should at least be aware of local laws --if not respect
them-- or you could find yourself in pretty hot water one day on
your travels.
Of course, if you never leave the United States you only have to
fear the FBI, but they way they've been going lately I suppose
they'd have trouble finding their arse with both hands, so you're
probably safe exporting GIS "weapons" to Cuba. Personally I think
Cuba and the US would be better off if they opened full trade
with each other, but that probably won't happen until Castro
leaves office and the US government stops worrying about
Communism.
But one should not be too cavalier with GIS data. It can be used
to hurt people as easily as it can be used to help. Imagine a
worst-case scenario where insane terrorists (or organized crime
or hostile government-sponsored agents) got hold of a digital map
of US "Critical Infrastructure" (power stations, substations,
high voltage lines, communications centers, bridges, dams, etc.)
Combine that with 911 response times, police and fire stations
locations and capacities, etc.) Throw in a data set of traffic
light timing, traffic volumes, road construction, etc. and you
could just pick your place and time to create maximum havoc with
some good GIS analysis. GIS can be used just as easily by the bad
guys as the good guys, and it's naive to think that security
isn't important. Like any high technology, GIS is a double edged
sword and can cut both ways.
--
- Bill Thoen
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