Daily News: You can Google it: New York lawmakers give presumption of accuracy to Google Maps

State lawmakers have given Google Maps and other web mapping services the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their accuracy.

A bill approved in the final hours of the state Legislature’s annual session would give Google Maps and other global imaging websites the presumption of accuracy when they are used as evidence in New York courts.

“We have all been relying on Google Maps for years and this is way to have the court system catch up to what the rest of us have been doing,” said State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), who sponsored the bill.

Currently, if a claimant or defendant in a court action wants to use information from Google Maps or a similar site as evidence, they also have to provide evidence or testimony that the information is accurate, which can be costly and time consuming, Gianaris said.

Under Gianaris’ bill, information taken from Google Maps and similar sites would be presumed accurate unless “credible and reliable evidence” is presented showing that it is not.

Read more here: https://nydn.us/2Kll7c7