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Google Map’s ‘Street View’, which was launched in the U.S. last May, is having a hard time in UK. The service is supposed to be starting this week. The Street View places snaps of different locations on the map. The point where objection was raised was that those photos contain passers-by who were present at the time when snap was taken.
When Street View was released in the U.S., Google received a few complaints from people objecting about their presence in the photo. Google then removed the snaps on people’s request.
Different privacy groups are raising their voices in this regard. A UK privacy group, Privacy International, thinks that the above mentioned technology shatters the protection laws.
Simon Davies of Privacy International, said:
In our view they need a person’s consent if they make use of a person’s face for commercial ends
According to Google, it is experimenting with a new face blurring technology, the one which uses an algorithm which recognizes human faces in a snap. Though Privacy International is still uncertain about the technology and they have asked Google to provide them technical information regarding the system. The group is planning to write to the ‘Information Commissioner’, requesting suspension of the service in UK if the company fails to provide any explanation in seven days.
We’ve spoken to Google in the past about this and received a snide response telling us to look more closely at their blogs.
We’ve been told by engineers at Google that the technology is not ready to be deployed.
added Davies.
It is legal to shot snaps of people at public streets in the U.S. The group argues that the case in UK is different. They think that the technology, as it is being used commercially, will need permission of people who appear in those photo. On the other hand, Google says that it is obeying local laws.
Davies, in a letter to Senior Privacy Counsel at Google, Jane Horvath, said that the company’s profile concerning deployment of technology designed to protect privacy was inconsistent.
Davies added:
I recall the promise made by Google to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) during the DoubleClick acquisition that "crumbling cookies" would be developed.
We have seen no evidence that this technology has been deployed. In response to concerns expressed at the time of our 2007 Internet privacy rankings, Google also promised a "privacy dashboard" to help consumers understand the functionality of their user settings. This technology has not appeared.
Furthermore the group has asked the company about any steps they have taken to consult the public in this regard.
They’ve asked Google:
the steps, if any, that you have taken to consult the public over the use of their images for what is, in effect, a commercial purpose.
Moreover Davies added:
Google likes to think of itself as a global player. In reality it is acting like an irresponsible adolescent.
It’s time for the company to take responsibility for its actions and to do the right thing.
Google is considering the issue of privacy seriously, specially after loosing $1 billion lawsuit filed by Viacom.
The first European appearance of Street View came in the form of the route of Tour de France. Launching the service just ahead of the event is a good strategy and it is probably going to work. Users will be able to view the route just like the cyclists do.
Here is how you use the Street View for Tour de France:
