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| Science & Technology |
| Google Pulls 'Embarrassing' Street View Images |
| 2009-03-23 |
| Google has removed dozens of photos from its Street View service following complaints from web users. Among the images removed so far are a picture that shows a man being sick near Shoreditch High Street, another one of a man entering a sex shop in London, and an image that shows a group of people being arrested. The offending images have instead been replaced with a black screen and the words: "This image is no longer available". But, but, inquiring minds want to know... A spokesman for Google could not confirm the exact number of images removed, but said it had been "less than expected". "We're still 'reviewing' a few images of young men and young women, and may be doing so for some time." "When we launched the service, we explained how importantly we take privacy and we explained how easy it is to remove pictures. We have received a few removals in the last 24 hours but it is less than expected. "The tools are there for users to remove pictures they are not happy with. We are pleased that the tools we developed are working well." Every image in Google Street View contains a link which users need to click on in order to "Report a concern" with the picture. They must then fill out a form identifying the area of the picture that is of concern, and the reason why they are requesting its removal. Google said that it aimed to resolve disputes about flagged images "very, very quickly". Google has already confirmed that it will happily remove images of people's homes if they do not want the building to be visible in Street View. The company has a dedicated team whose job it is to assess requests for removal and ensure inappropriate images are taken down. We actually had one of our hobby vehicles parked in the driveway for sale at the time the Google-Photo folks came by. Just think, a Billion people could gaze at a '65 Fairlane convertible. It sold, but not to someone in China. Google said it had used cutting-edge technology to automatically blur the faces of people captured in the photos, as well as the number plates on cars. But internet users have already found several instances where this blurring technology has not worked, leaving people clearly identifiable. "The images you see on Street View are the same images you would see if you were to walk or drive down the road yourself," said Ed Parsons, a geospatial technologist at Google. "The rule of thumb is: if you or I can drive down a public road, then our camera cars can too." Google has mapped the streets of more than 25 major cities across the UK, covering more than 22,369 miles of road since the project started last summer. However, privacy campaigners have expressed concerns about the Street View service. "These images are being captured without people's permission for commercial use, and we believe that it is not legally acceptable," said Simon Davies, director of Privacy International. "They are also putting into place a system for updating these images in the future, and for storing the images digitally where they could be misused." "But they won't tell us where!" |
| Posted by:Mullah Richard |
| #2 There is no 'right' to privacy for that which is in open public view. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-03-23 17:02 |
| #1 Simon Davies is a moron. Hey Simon, if you want that level of privacy stay in and close all your curtains. Forever. |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2009-03-23 15:27 |