Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise sent a letter in the fall to the Land and Spatial Development Board, drawing attention to the fact that aerial photos visible in the agency's geoportal are so detailed that items such as garden hoses and robotic lawn mowers can be identified.

The chancellor noted that several people have contacted her expressing concerns about their safety, as the images are freely downloadable from the geoportal and the detailed visual material could provide valuable information to malicious actors.

The ministry has now made several proposals to limit access. Possible measures include reducing resolution or releasing the data with a time delay to prevent real-time tracking of people's assets and habits.

Ivari Rannama from the ministry told ERR that the most reasonable solution might be to make high-resolution photos available only to authenticated users. This would not be technically difficult to implement.

"We have considered that state institutions or local governments would automatically have this right to carry out their statutory duties. On the other hand, multi-level solutions are also possible, for example, making the data accessible after identity verification," Rannama said.

The Land and Spatial Development Board published last year's aerial images with a lower resolution, responding to the chancellor's criticism.

Rannama said some users have complained and have asked why it is not possible to view more detailed imagery at all.

Hindering innovation?

These detailed aerial photos are used by businesses in logistics, real estate development and agriculture. While overly easy access to such images may infringe on people's privacy, a lack of access could, according to the ministry, hinder innovation.

The ministry notes that limited access to detailed data may slow product development due to the lack of high-quality base data. "The level of detail in publicly available data decreases. The quality of services and data-driven decisions declines," the policy outline states.

Ragnar Viikoja from the Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce said farmers need high-resolution images, for example, to show the state where their farmland begins and ends. The size of a field determines how much support a farmer can receive from the European Union.

"Currently, there is a lot of confusion because the system interprets field boundaries depending on how shadows or tree canopies cover them. If the quality drops, certain levels of accuracy will also disappear, which in my view will lead to significantly more bureaucracy, particularly for PRIA," Viikoja said.

Land surveyor Mart Rae said it seems the state has not yet fully thought through who should have access to high-resolution images and who should not.

"We have long, dark and snowy periods, and many details may not be visible in work carried out during darker times. In midsummer, drainage wells, culverts or other features may not be visible under grass. For this reason, high-resolution orthomosaics are an extremely important source of information. Not to mention their use in large-scale planning or road design. If access is limited only to identified users, the question arises whether that access applies only to a specific area or whether we would have to repeatedly prove what we are doing in that area. If the state commissions work from us, it may be easier to justify legitimate interest, but there are also private developers and municipalities that commission such work. If their interest is not considered sufficient, the question is what happens then," Rae said.

The ministry sent a draft proposal to interest groups last Friday outlining planned amendments to the Spatial Data Act and other legislation, as well as a development plan for service design.

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