- Hamed Aleaziz Since Google launched its Google Earth feature
in 2005, the company has become a worldwide leader in providing
high-resolution satellite imagery. In 2010, Google Earth allowed
the world to see the extent of the destruction in post-
earthquake Haiti. This year, Google released similar images
after Japan’s deadly tsunami and earthquake. With just one
click, Google can bring the world—and a better understanding of
far-away events—to your computer. There is one entire country,
however, that Google Earth won’t show you: Israel. That’s
because, in 1997, Congress passed the National Defense
Authorization Act, one section of which is titled, “Prohibition
on collection and release of detailed satellite imagery relating
to Israel.” The amendment, known as the Kyl-Bingaman Amendment,
calls for a federal agency, the NOAA’s Commercial Remote Sensing
Regulatory Affairs, to regulate the dissemination of zoomed-in
images of Israel. When asked about the regulation, a Google
spokeswoman said to Mother Jones, “Th