Google Earth's Surprisingly Messy Origins Exposed in Netflix Drama
The origins of Google Earth may seem familiar to fans of tech dramas like The Social Network. A new Netflix series, The Billion Dollar Code, retells the story of two young Berlin-based digital artists who created a project called Terravision in the early 1990s.
The show's protagonists, Carsten Schlüter and Juri Müller, were part of the hacking collective ART+COM. They pitched their idea for a 3D model of the globe to potential investors, but it wasn't until they created Terravision that Google Earth came into being.
The Billion Dollar Code flashes forward to 2017, when middle-aged versions of Carsten and Juri are embroiled in a patent infringement lawsuit against Google. The show portrays Google as taking the duo's idea without permission or compensation.
While some liberties were taken with the court case, the show stays true to its core narrative. ART+COM did sue Google in 2014, and lost the case in 2017. The show's depiction of the early tech boom and its subsequent disillusionment resonates with audiences familiar with shows like Halt and Catch Fire or Silicon Valley.