Matt Blaze, a professor of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania, noticed a Google Maps SUV in the Philadelphia Convention Center tunnel. Upon closer inspection, he noticed it wasn’t a Google Maps and tweeted a picture:
The Philadelphia Police Department initially denied it was one of theirs:
They’ve now changed their tune:
A Philadelphia Police Department surveillance van bearing a Google Maps logo, seen in Center City on Wednesday, was not authorized to use the logo, officials said Friday.
"We have been informed that this unmarked vehicle belongs to the Police Department; however, the placing of any particular decal on the vehicle was not approved through any chain of command," police spokesman Lt. John Stanford said in an email. "Once this was brought to our attention, it was ordered that the decals be removed immediately."
Matt Blaze noted the vehicle had a high-powered license plate reader, a device that remains highly controversial:
The use of ALPR is controversial because of its ability to photograph thousands of license plate images per minute, and in doing so, warrantlessly track and store the average person’s travel habits. In Philly, the police can retain this data for a full year, even though the vast majority of residents are not under investigation. Plate information captured and subsequently used for investigations can be stored indefinitely, according to a department directive.
Google confirmed they didn’t have permission:
“We can confirm that this is not a Google Maps car, and that we are currently looking into the matter,” Google spokesperson Susan Cadrecha wrote. When pressed, Cadrecha would not elaborate as to whether the company was concerned or angered that a local agency would be using a vehicle with powerful—and controversial—surveillance technology while masquerading as a street mapping car.