Google deletes Ayers Rock images from its maps

After Aboriginal people's request, Big G promises to remove from Street View photos and images that violate Uluru, a sacred place in central Australia

(Photo: Chris Jackson / Getty Images) Google has decided to delete from Street View all the images of Uluru, a sacred place for Australian aborigines. At the request of Parks Australia, the government agency that takes care of the island's natural treasures, the search engine accepted the request to obscure the immense monolith, more commonly known as Ayers Rock, which stands in the center of the Australia.

Aborigines have long fought for respect for their sacred place. In October 2019 they managed to obtain a ban on climbing the rock, which was previously allowed to tourists. And now they have submitted to Google Maps the request to delete the images uploaded by users, which could have violated the sacredness of the site, located in the center of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

For example, via Google Street View it was still possible to climb the monolith. "We know that Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is deeply sacred to the Anangu people," explained a spokesperson for the Mountain View giant: "As soon as Parks Australia expressed their concerns about this user contribution, we removed the images ".



Virtual path in Street View that allows you to climb Ayers Rock (screenshot from Google Maps) However, as Wired was able to notice at the time of writing, they are still many photos uploaded by users present in the dedicated section of Goegle Maps and that the path that leads from the base to the top of Ayers Rock is still practicable virtually with Street View. In the next few days, Big G will most likely remove the content altogether, to honor the promise made to the Aboriginal people.