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US lifts restrictions on more detailed satellite images

Sites like Google and Bing Maps will be able to use higher-quality satellite images, thanks to US government restrictions being lifted.

Companies had not been allowed to make use of images where features smaller than 50cm were visible.

But one imaging firm, Digital Globe, said it would be able to sell images that showed features as small as 31cm.

One lawyer told the BBC he expected "repercussions" from people worried about their privacy.

Marc Dautlich, from Pinsent Masons, said there may be "national security considerations" to address as well.

Currently, some sensitive locations around the world are obscured or blurred on mapping websites.

The decision was made after Digital Globe applied to the US Department of Commerce asking for restrictions to be lifted.

'Manholes and mailboxes'

Digital Globe said new satellites would be launched to take advantage of the ruling.

The

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