There are three problems that any opposition is likely to face (including ours) to the remarkably poorly thought out Geospatial Information bill: 1. Discussions will be mostly about national security: Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, to the Economic Times: "India as a responsible power must have established guidelines"... "We won't create hurdles for business and technological development, but national security considerations must not be compromised either." A government official told ET: "Pathankot air base, which was recently attacked, can be seen on Google Maps. Terrorists plot strikes on sensitive targets studying Google Maps", "Our plea to black out sensitive installations do not yield results. This Bill is now sending a strong message that US companies cannot be running roughshod over Indian security interests." * MediaNama's Take: The bill could have only looked at the representation of India's national borders and the representation of defense establishments on maps, and not all location data, its collection and generation. But it doesn't. It forces licensing and vetting of all geolocation data, including if I WhatsApp my current location (with just a tap) to a friend who is coming over to meet me. The bill also invalidates creation and sharing of location information via a panic button. If I'm tracking my walking routes on a map using Runkeeper, or plotting powercuts in India using Ushahidi, as a means of data journalism, it would be illegal. All of this is Geospatial Information, and not all Geospatial information is a national security risk or concern. This…
