Delete the prisons: France urges Google to remove jail pics after gangster escape on helicopter
The French Justice Minister called on Google to delete the images of its “security buildings,” including jails, from the maps. It comes after a notorious French gangster was put back behind bars after a spectacular escape.
Nicole Belloubet has pointed at a major flaw in the country's security in an interview to RTL, saying that it's “not normal” that detention facilities can be easily viewed on Google.
Indeed, the prisons can be easily found on satellite images, including the photo of the jail in Reau, where career robber Redoine Faid broke out via a helicopter.
Some other security sites' pictures are also easily googled. For example, the penitentiary in Meaux commune located in an hour drive from Paris or another one on Vendin-le-Vieil.
“I've written to Google asking for action to remove [photos of] these penitentiary sites but nothing has happened so far," she said, adding she might meet some of the company officials in charge.
Last week France saw the end of a jailbreak saga as Faid, notorious for his escapes, was arrested by the authorities. The gangster was on the run for three months in June, fleeing the site aboard of a helicopter; the pilot of which had been taken hostage by the criminal's accomplices.
France's address to Google comes shortly after another EU country, Belgium, mulled suing the tech giant for not blurring its military sites, including ones storing US nuclear weapons. Brussels insisted that the pictures pose a threat for its national security, exposing the sensitive locations to potential terrorists.
