Originally Posted by
garykung
Well...Google does not own the satellite. Instead, NASA and other space agencies provides the imagery to Google.
The way I see it - it really depends on the space agencies, not Google.
Most of the imagery Google uses is from non-government sources. While the government does still own and operate its own imaging assets, there are several companies that own Earth-observing satellites and sell imagery to end users, including the USG and its spy agencies. Google used to own its own satellites but sold them to another company a few years ago and I think doesn't currently own any.