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Information Technology

EU warns Google over Street View

By Jose Vilches, TechSpot.com
Published: May 16, 2008, 3:48 PM EST
Google Maps’ Street View has become popular among drivers but courted controversy when it was found that the photos often displayed individuals on the street and inside buildings. Though many in the US have complained over potential privacy issues, no legal measures have been taken against it as it is considered to be in accordance with the law.

In the European Union, unsurprisingly, the search giant may face some hurdles for displaying ground level photos of the streets online. EU data protection supervisor Peter Hustinx said that if the service eventually is offered in European countries it could cause privacy problems under current legislation. Even before Hustinx made the comment to reporters, however, Google said that it had already begun testing a new feature which will blur people’s faces. Whether or not the measure will be enough to put regulators’ privacy concerns to rest remains to be seen.

User Comments (3)

Post a comment
hughjass
on May 16, 2008
4:31 PM
I don't see how taking photos from the street is a privacy issue.

Paparazzi getting a massive lens to photograph someone 2 miles away might be...

black_adder
on May 17, 2008
3:26 PM
oh god NO! they can see me WALKING MY DOG!!

Im suing, thats it, its outragious... ;D

seriously, unless you're looking directly at the sky the exact moment the satalite takes the picture, you're fine... then again, I guess if google are working on bluring, some poeople must have done that.

Deathstar17
on May 19, 2008
8:51 AM
Its just the EU making something out of nothing again...

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