Skip to main content
Search IntMath
Close

Google Maps - Singapore restricted zones

By Murray Bourne, 13 Apr 2007

I was looking for an address in Singapore's Streetdirectory.com, and was surprised to see many portions of the satellite view were hidden by a message that says:

Streetdirectory

Their maps are supplied by Google.

But this is strange because over at Google Maps, there are no such restrictions and you can see the whole island.

Significance? This is a Mindef (Ministry of Defence) facility. The Singapore government has put a lid on Streetdirectory.com showing those areas, but you can see those areas so easily elsewhere. Seems to me like a rather ineffective way to hide - in fact, it draws attention to those places.

Footnote: I modified this post (by removing some images before publishing) after reading a blog post on the same issue (not longer available) where the authors of Streetdirectory.com write:

With regards to why the images are blocked on Streetdirectory.com. Yes, thats the requirement from our local authorities here.

Google is not a Singapore based company but we are. So we have to play by the rules even though it does seems funny and weird.

I suggest that u guys dont publish anything that have sensitive information. Law is law 🙂

And that, folks, is how self-censorship works in Singapore.

See the 3 Comments below.

Leave a comment




Comment Preview

HTML: You can use simple tags like <b>, <a href="...">, etc.

To enter math, you can can either:

  1. Use simple calculator-like input in the following format (surround your math in backticks, or qq on tablet or phone):
    `a^2 = sqrt(b^2 + c^2)`
    (See more on ASCIIMath syntax); or
  2. Use simple LaTeX in the following format. Surround your math with \( and \).
    \( \int g dx = \sqrt{\frac{a}{b}} \)
    (This is standard simple LaTeX.)

NOTE: You can mix both types of math entry in your comment.

top

Tips, tricks, lessons, and tutoring to help reduce test anxiety and move to the top of the class.