Ukraine-Russia war shows Google, Apple Maps and smartphones at the forefront of modern warfare

       The latest European battle was not only live-streamed via social media but also on online mapping services, something that neither Google nor Apple intends to do. The vast amounts of mapping data now readily available mean that it is possible for civilians half a world away to see when Russian troops are about to move.

　　Specifically, the data pinpoints traffic jams starting on the Russian side of the border, actively moving into Ukraine in the first few minutes of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Like any mapping, this information is subject to interpretation. Google Maps doesn't specifically say that this is troop movement, and its satellite imagery isn't up to date. Apple Maps is confirmed to be presenting similar information about incoming troop movements, but it's not set up to do so either.

　　What these services did do, though, was register all smartphone users whose driving was slowed or stopped because of unusual traffic conditions. Wherever the bulk of the data came from, when combined with details about known Russian troop locations, it was possible to determine what was happening. So it was possible to know the intrusion had begun before traditional news reports. And it was all relayed live on Twitter.

　　This raises the question of the almost accidental power that Big Tech has acquired over issues that seem far removed from its intended use. Now, a new conflict has emerged between civil rights, civilian-facing technology, and security. No one intended for Google Maps to become a military tool, but if it and other Big Tech services have become such, they have been done without any form of oversight. Democracy needs information, but governments want to control it, so you can bet that Google and Apple will get some calls on this issue.

　　According to the official Google Maps Twitter account, a "traffic jam" occurred at 3:15 a.m. on the road from Belgorod, Russia to the Ukrainian border. It started exactly where the Russian armored vehicle formation we saw yesterday appeared. At that time, Google Maps began to report traffic congestion on the Russian side of the border.

　　Just as Apple Maps uses data from iPhones, Google Maps uses location and movement data from Androids. Over time, the companies have collected unprecedented amounts of detail and processed them in real time.