Hacker News Reader

Comment by blackeyeblitzar | Hacker News Reader

This just seems bizarre. What’s to stop companies in other countries from meaningfully mapping China using satellite data? Can’t they figure out the amount of obfuscation or use AI algorithms to align the maps correctly?

View on HN

It's a rent seeking scheme. The algorithm is already reverse-engineered and you can download it from your favorite package manager. But in order to operate legally in China you need to purchase the "decryption module" from the surveying department.

The obfuscation algorithm has already been reverse-engineered, so no AI is needed.

https://wuyongzheng.github.io/china-map-deviation/paper.html

None, other than their personal safety (when the person enter China border, that's include Hong Kong), or if they want to enter China market.

It must have seemed like a good idea at the time. Back when surveying was analog. Way back in... 2002?

As far as I can tell, the only thing stopping them is that China considers it illegal for them to do so. Companies that provide a map of China would probably also like to operate in China, so they comply with their laws.

someone raised this point in another discussion about it, but I wonder if that's the main aim why you need the obscure algorithm in the first place, couldn't you just have these laws about maps of any standard?

(National) Security theatre https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_theater

Plus everyone who's involved will get richer.

Yes, it’s just market protectionism. There’s no military advantage to doing this.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com