What's done in view of the public, and in public, is public. If you don't want to be seen doing something, then don't do it in public. Duh. As far as I'm concerned, anything that's plainly viewable to a person on the street is a public act and you can't complain when you get caught on film/video.
christi
· 8 months ago
caused “clear embarrassment and damage” to many Britons
Examples, please.
Ellie Taylor
· 8 months ago
You can see my neighbors knickers but we just thought the concept was amusing...
ddrescher
· 8 months ago
Out in public, nothing is private. Don't want to be embarrassed? Don't do anything embarrassing in public.
jhoysi
· 8 months ago
Except it's not just "in public" that is viewable. I know someone who's house is pictured with their garage wide open, showcasing what they have inside. While I may be OK with my house on Google Street View, I can see how people would be unhappy that there is not a level of control over what of their personal property is seen, depending on when the GoogleCam happened to come by their house.
Tom Longson
· 8 months ago
That is public though... if I build a glass house, people will look in. I don't have privacy. Same goes for garage doors. If you want privacy, you have to create it. If I were to sit naked on a lawn chair on my lawn, I don't have any expectation of privacy, even if it's on my personal property.
Photo sharing
· 8 months ago
Good luck to them. They will fail. They need to find something more important to whine about. Street view is an incredible service.
@MartinWSI
· 8 months ago
If I can drive by the house and see for myself, what difference does it make?
guruvan
· 8 months ago
The feds can place a listening device on your car in a public place, you get to watch these same cars over the highway cameras, and many other ways. I would see the registration if I walked down the street. Am I just supposed to close my eyes? It's public information. Unbelievable, really. And to the commenter above talking about the open garage door: If I walked down that street when that garage door would I not see inside? Close the door if you don't want people to see. Draw the curtains. Don't do things in public you don't want people to see. Period
zohaibusman
· 8 months ago
controversy about google earth that the terrorists really like that technology and now google street view and Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt: "We get sued every day"
Pete White
· 8 months ago
I hope they don't shut it down, google have been very open with removing anything people don't like so I can't really see the problem.
Christianna
· 8 months ago
Privacy International is using this issue as a platform to further their own agenda, and if their strategy is to create enough negative publicity to overshadow the positive, then such strategy appears to be working. Hopefully, it'll all blow over without a shutdown of Street View. What I worry about is that those uninformed and/or inclined toward paranoia will jump on the bandwagon.
Even if certain Britons have experienced embarrassment or worse (in the case of the woman hiding from an abusive ex-spouse), they always have the option to ... "opt out." I realize that some websites exist to exploit the embarrassing pictures long after they've been removed, but in the vast majority of cases, good judgment wasn't being exercised to begin with. As for the woman in hiding, she alone has my sympathy and I hope the photo will be removed before any damage is done.
Louise Thibert
· 8 months ago
I am glad there are people fighting for our so-called 'privacy' as it seems to not exist anymore. In today's society it is okay to know everything about everyone. If I go into my backyard, I do expect a bit of privacy as the only people whom I am exposed to are my neighbours. I know them, I know where they live. I wouldn't dream of doing anything in public that I didn't want public, but in my own backyard? Where is the line?
My place of employment is on google map. The arial view is amazing. There is stuff on the map that I didn't even know was there. Where is the owner's right to privacy of his own business and property. The company is in the middle of a field, yet on Google the whole property is there for the viewing. Maybe that is how the thieves get there information as we have had vehicles stolen which are out of sight from all surrounding roads, but clear as day on Google.
I never gave Ma Bell permission to make my name and phone number searchable on Canada 411, but they did it. Now all you need is an address, and you can find out the name of the resident, the phone number, and the names and addresses of all neighbours. I did not give permission for this, yet I did give permission for it to be in print, and only searchable if you knew my name. (without going to a lot of effort). So in today's society you are to expect no level of privacy, even in your own home or on your own property.
Until it happens to you, it's easy to say you don't care. When it's happened to you, it's too late.
Christianna
· 8 months ago
Google is not alone in providing satellite imagery and, for that matter, Street View-style images. Central London has been online with panoramic images of its streets for months now via Seety (www.seety.co.uk). Microsoft offers Birds-Eye View images of many UK cities and satellite images of the entire country; I'm really surprised there hasn't been any fuss over Birds-Eye, since those images are taken at an angle rather than top-down like satellite images and you can zoom in fairly close - so you can see pictures of backyards and discern what's in them, which is more than you can do with the satellite pix. As for what can be seen with the satellite images, 'fraid that ship has already sailed. A number of companies now offer satellite imagery online - so even if Google shut down today and took along with it all of its images, there is still Microsoft's Virtual Earth/Live Maps (and others).
Ethan2365
· 8 months ago
Isn't Microsoft doing the same thing with street mapping for their online maps?
d3bruts1d
· 8 months ago
"Privacy Group Wants To Shut Down Google."
Fixed.
Jason Woodson
· 8 months ago
LOL, sounds like this group has WAY too much spare time on their hands!
This is ridiculous. I can walk down the street now and look right at people's faces and registration plates. Is that an invasion of privacy?
digitaltoast
· 8 months ago
Pathetic - there are SO many more important things to worry about. Why doesn't publicity-seeking pillock Simon Davies take his crappy little group and find something proper to do?
I've looked around their appalling website and I don't see much about Microsoft, whose products are near-identical, or the Labour Government, whose invasions into our privacy go far beyond public photos of blurred people in public.
It's a distraction tactic, and PI need ignoring.
SLEZE
· 8 months ago
How can any group in the UK make the case that anyone has the expectation of privacy with all the CCTVs that are EVERYWHERE there? Absurd.
andrew
· 8 months ago
"not working as good as everyone" ??? Dude good and well are not interchangable. "Not working as WELL as everyone hoped it would"
klabinar
· 8 months ago
Once again I see the difference between the US law and the law in my country (Switzerland). Here (switzerland) google only got the right to photograph the streets if all people's faces are getting anonymisized and if everyone can say that they don't want their property being photographed (you can make google take down the pictures of your house). This is what in my opinion is the right thing because we don't want google to have pictures of our homes or even country without having the right to control which photos are on the net. This is - how it has to be in a real free country! So I understand if an international organisation fights against google streetview because it's not like that in every country and in most countries people dont't have as much rights as in switzerland. So there can be 2 possabillities in that case: 1- Take down Streetview 2 - Change the rules so that everyone can control the pictures that are taken from them or their houses AND anonymisize all people's faces!
Duh
· 8 months ago
Breaking News: People seeing you on Google Street View is no different from people seeing you IF THEY WERE ACTUALLY STANDING THERE ON THE STREET. If you dont want to be seen, stay off the street. How hard is this to comprehend?
Winston
· 8 months ago
So you are trying to compare people walking past you for a brief glimpse to the same as them taking your photograph, storing it and then profiting from it?
CM
· 8 months ago
It is very different. 100/month avg walking past your house - mostly people that live around that neighborhood is MUCH different than 1-2 BILLION people being able to 'walk' around your street and look at your house/backyard/garage/car/kids/dog/address/license plate/etc. The complaint I see is that the word 'public' is being redefined by the megacorps, and there isn't a thing we can do about it. The notion 'Jimmy can walk down the street and see my house' has made everyone believe 'Jimmy is the same as the world population, so they have the right to the same things as Jimmy' - which is not true. This is my opinion. I love street view, and haven't had a case that warranted me giving a crap about the privacy issue - but if I was looking at my house and saw something I didn't want everyone to see (everyone as in 'the world', NOT my next door neighbors), then I had better have a means to take down the image - which google offers - that is ALL they are required to do, per the US/UK law - there is no legitimate argument here by the 'Privacy Group' - they are a bunch of idiots with way too much time on their hands. Worry about other things already - this concept will only get more detailed - it will NOT go away in our lifetime. Period. Spend money/time on another argument and get on with your lives.
Winston
· 8 months ago
Google try and argue that everything is "public". Anyone can walk by my house and see what it looks like. That's fine - but what right do they have to provide it in a service where they profit from it? What right do they have to collect these pictures of my home and store them indefinitely? But also, someone on the other side of the world can not walk by my house - so why should they have access to see it?
And I think the key point of contention is that Google should not be able to upload all of these images for the entire world to see without them being checked beforehand. Why is it up to me to check that my privacy is not invaded on every image? That's their job as a provider of this service.
a
· 8 months ago
Google StreetView essentially broadcasts information to billions of people. Anyone with internet access can see it. That being said, I think that there's a major difference between one person "walking down the street and seeing license plates" and having your license plates on StreetView. Even though there isn't a physical crowd gathering around your license plates, the exact same thing can happen through street view, except on a far larger scale. I would argue that things that appear on StreetView have a larger potential audience than you would if you intentionally "sat naked in your front lawn."
It's a persons right to decide which information he or she wants to be public. Whether or not that ideal is being trampled upon in the name of convenience is irrelevant.
PI isn't crazy, stupid or in need of more things to do in their "copious amounts of spare time." They simply realize that what Google is doing has the potential to put people at risk. Are other companies doing this as well? Yes. Yes they are. Do they have the same market penetration that Google does? Well, you tell me.
Google has had a lot of scrutiny with this issue. After they won one lawsuit, Google said that their is really no such thing as complete privacy anymore. Or at least something to that effect..
mattmcb
· 8 months ago
What does PI have to hide then? The more information the better... I don't have anything to hide. Try the best homepage
Paul
· 8 months ago
Winston, the "right" that Google has is that they've worked with your Privacy Commissioner to post those photos. True, Google hasn't done a perfect job of the whole blurring thing and they need to step up their quality control. Still, if blurring is not enough for you and you think Street View should be shut down for UK, work with your leaders to get the laws changed so that people are not allowed to publish photos taken in public where profit can be made (although that would affect more than just Google). Until such happens, ask Google to remove pictures of you or your house. I'd rather people did that than try to have the whole service removed. Once you've got your own casa/face/car removed, why keep griping about it?
Now, from what I understand - anyone living in a country that does not yet have pictures of its own cities available in Street View - can't access it. Please correct me if I'm wrong about this. If my understanding is correct, remember that's true for anyone outside the nine countries where Street View is currently available (except for those tech savvy enough to figure a way around this). What I don't get is -- why are people so upset that others around the world can see their houses? For the most part, people across the ocean from you aren't the ones you have to fear. It's the bloke down the street who can case your pad for real and do you some genuine damage. You have nothing to fear from me when I'm thousands of miles away from you. Sure there are terrorists, but you know - those guys are resourceful and have been causing trouble long before Street View in any country was launched. If Street View is taken away from those of us who greatly benefit from it, then the bad guys have many other tricks up their sleeves, not to mention access to other technology, to commit their dastardly deeds.
We really gotta cut down on the paranoia and focus on real issues that threaten our safety.
Steve
· 8 months ago
It's futile at this point. Sure there are special situations in which the streetview is too intrusive, but that's why you can complain to Google and they will remove it. The bottom line is you are responsible for your own privacy-whether it's physical or digital privacy. You can empower yourself with sites like www.justaskgemalto.com.
Michael
· 8 months ago
This is yet another example of how the internet is changing the world for all of us. We are still figuring out all of the benefits and yes, drawbacks of how the internet can and should be used. This is going to be an ongoing process as internet usage becomes more and more ubiquitous, and it is the next step of the ancient battle of privacy vs. safety.
The_DMV
· 6 months ago
Could you imagine the sort of uproar there would be if the California DMV released a random group of peoples vehicle registration and address information. It would be a HUGE story and might easily include lawsuits and other nastiness. The fact that G Street View is a private company's program where everything is displayed in a visual context doesn't change the fact that there is are serious implications when displaying peoples personal data, regardless of the medium.
Colin
· 4 months ago
I would worry more about the states cameras everywhere than Googles street view, it poses a far greater threat to your privacy.
jhoysi
· 8 months ago
It's an odd line. I think what makes people uncomfortable is the fact that the GoogleCam can come by any time of day, whether your house looks its best or its worst, whether your garage door is open showcasing your mancave with the big-screen tv, or if it is closed and discreet.
Personally, I can see their point. I didn't ask for my house to be viewable on the internet, and it is my owned private property.
All Comments
Examples, please.
They need to find something more important to whine about.
Street view is an incredible service.
and now google street view and Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt:
"We get sued every day"
Even if certain Britons have experienced embarrassment or worse (in the case of the woman hiding from an abusive ex-spouse), they always have the option to ... "opt out." I realize that some websites exist to exploit the embarrassing pictures long after they've been removed, but in the vast majority of cases, good judgment wasn't being exercised to begin with. As for the woman in hiding, she alone has my sympathy and I hope the photo will be removed before any damage is done.
My place of employment is on google map. The arial view is amazing. There is stuff on the map that I didn't even know was there. Where is the owner's right to privacy of his own business and property. The company is in the middle of a field, yet on Google the whole property is there for the viewing. Maybe that is how the thieves get there information as we have had vehicles stolen which are out of sight from all surrounding roads, but clear as day on Google.
I never gave Ma Bell permission to make my name and phone number searchable on Canada 411, but they did it. Now all you need is an address, and you can find out the name of the resident, the phone number, and the names and addresses of all neighbours. I did not give permission for this, yet I did give permission for it to be in print, and only searchable if you knew my name. (without going to a lot of effort). So in today's society you are to expect no level of privacy, even in your own home or on your own property.
Until it happens to you, it's easy to say you don't care. When it's happened to you, it's too late.
Fixed.
RT
www.privacy-tools.us.tc
I've looked around their appalling website and I don't see much about Microsoft, whose products are near-identical, or the Labour Government, whose invasions into our privacy go far beyond public photos of blurred people in public.
It's a distraction tactic, and PI need ignoring.
1- Take down Streetview
2 - Change the rules so that everyone can control the pictures that are taken from them or their houses AND anonymisize all people's faces!
And I think the key point of contention is that Google should not be able to upload all of these images for the entire world to see without them being checked beforehand. Why is it up to me to check that my privacy is not invaded on every image? That's their job as a provider of this service.
It's a persons right to decide which information he or she wants to be public. Whether or not that ideal is being trampled upon in the name of convenience is irrelevant.
PI isn't crazy, stupid or in need of more things to do in their "copious amounts of spare time." They simply realize that what Google is doing has the potential to put people at risk. Are other companies doing this as well? Yes. Yes they are. Do they have the same market penetration that Google does? Well, you tell me.
http://tinyurl.com/cdzhk6
Try the best homepage
Now, from what I understand - anyone living in a country that does not yet have pictures of its own cities available in Street View - can't access it. Please correct me if I'm wrong about this. If my understanding is correct, remember that's true for anyone outside the nine countries where Street View is currently available (except for those tech savvy enough to figure a way around this). What I don't get is -- why are people so upset that others around the world can see their houses? For the most part, people across the ocean from you aren't the ones you have to fear. It's the bloke down the street who can case your pad for real and do you some genuine damage. You have nothing to fear from me when I'm thousands of miles away from you. Sure there are terrorists, but you know - those guys are resourceful and have been causing trouble long before Street View in any country was launched. If Street View is taken away from those of us who greatly benefit from it, then the bad guys have many other tricks up their sleeves, not to mention access to other technology, to commit their dastardly deeds.
We really gotta cut down on the paranoia and focus on real issues that threaten our safety.
We are still figuring out all of the benefits and yes, drawbacks of how the internet can and should be used.
This is going to be an ongoing process as internet usage becomes more and more ubiquitous, and it is the next step of the ancient battle of privacy vs. safety.
Personally, I can see their point. I didn't ask for my house to be viewable on the internet, and it is my owned private property.