Google Maps Disables Traffic Data That Allowed Russian Forces To Spot Ukrainians

Google Maps has temporarily shut down its live traffic feature in Ukraine to protect the safety of the citizens as the country is being invaded by Russian forces.

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The feature normally makes use of anonymous location data collected from Android smartphones to show where there are traffic hotspots. However, experts have highlighted that this data could show the extent of invasion.

The company has highlighted that it has decided to take this action of disabling the traffic layer and life information for the safety of local communities in the country, in consultation with sources including regional authorities.

This came after an Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) info (highlighted by a Motherboard article), where they were able to find signs of Russian invasion in places with unusual traffic jams at the Ukrainian border, on Google Maps.

Dr Jeffery Lewis, A professor at California¡¯s Middlebury Institute of International Studies said Google Maps helped in tracking a traffic jam that was actually the movement of Russian forces towards the borders hours after the attack was announced by Vladimir Putin.

He said in a statement to Motherboard, ¡°We all looked at the picture, and was like, oh s**t, it¡¯s coming. So it¡¯s the prior work of knowing that there¡¯s a giant Russian armoured unit sitting right there that allowed us to say, like, oh, I know what that traffic jam is, they¡¯re getting on the road.¡±

Reuters

Also Read: Google Maps Recorded Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine Before It Officially Began

He added, ¡°I think big data companies often don¡¯t want to face squarely how useful their data can be. I mean, it¡¯s cool when we do it, right? It¡¯s maybe less cool if the Russians were able to do something similar to, you know, spotting an offensive from Ukrainians.¡±

The traffic feature however will remain active for those who are using turn-by-turn navigation while commuting through the territory.

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