Has the US pledged not to interfere with the world's access to GPS services?
The U.S. has publicly pledged never to interfere in operations of the Global Positioning System, which was developed for military use but has become an everyday tool for many other government, business and consumer users around the world. The core of the satellite-navigation system is funded and operated by the Defense Department and under the ultimate control of the president.
Access to GPS signals has been open to civilian users since the mid-1990s, although the U.S. retained a "selective availability" option to limit or degrade the service for some users if needed for national security reasons. In 2000, the Clinton Administration renounced any use of that option, and in 2007 the Bush Administration said future GPS satellites would be built without any capability to use such an option.
