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Tag Archive: Google Street

Village Residents Physically Block Google Street View Camera

Village Residents Physically Block Google Street View Camera

Broughton is a pleasant English village, technically part of the town of Milton Keynes. But it became the scene of confrontation last week when residents physically blocked a Google Street View car from taking pictures. Their reasons, they said, were that it invaded privacy and was “facilitating crime.”

When resident Paul Jacobs saw the car, he called neighbors and they formed a cordon to prevent the vehicle going further. He told the BBC:

"I don’t have a problem with Google wanting to promote villages. What I have a problem with is the invasion of privacy, taking pictures directly into the home."

Google Maps Helps Locate Child

There’s more to Google Street View than entertainment and not getting lost, it seems. Authorities have used it, along with GPS tracking from a cell phone, to locate a nine-year-old girl reportedly taken by her grandmother.

The problem began after Rose Maltais collected her granddaughter Natalie from her guardians for a weekend away.

Athol, Massachusetts, police chief Timothy Anderson told the BBC that Rose Maltais "said that she wasn’t going to return Natalie and then left the state."

Google Street View Privacy Protest in Japan

The Kanshi Shakai o Kyohisuru Kai (Campaign Against Surveillance Society), a group of Japanese lawyers and professors led by Sophia University constitutional law professor Yasuhiko Tajima, have asked Internet giant Google to shut down Google Street View on the grounds that it violates basic privacy rights. Google Street View provides 360-degree, panoramic views of selected streets and areas from a pedestrian or vehicle’s perspective, enabling users to more accurately orient themselves in unfamiliar areas.

Apple Releases iPhone 2.2 Software

Apple Releases iPhone 2.2 Software

Apple has released version 2.2 of its software for the iPhone and iPod touch, tweaking the interface on the devices and adding significant new features to the integrated Maps applications. The update is available for free via iTunes, but eager updaters should take note that the update is mammoth, weighing in between 240 and 270 MB, depending on the device being updated.

Google Accused Of Privacy "Hypocrisy"

Google Accused Of Privacy "Hypocrisy"

What is Google’s stance on privacy? That’s the question being asked, at least by Ken Boehm of the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) after The Smoking Gun website reveal court papers filed by the search giant in a privacy suit over its Street Views mapping tool. In its filing Google asserts that “complete privacy doesn’t exist.”

But, says NLPC’s Boehm, Google had responded to a politician by saying it “takes privacy very seriously,” according to the BBC. He continued:

"Perhaps in Google’s world privacy does not exist, but in the real world individual privacy is fundamentally important and is being chipped away bit by bit every day by companies like Google."

Street View Gets UK Thumbs Up

When Google’s Street View mapping tool was proposed for the UK, privacy groups were quick to shout no, but now the Information Commissioner’s office (ICO) has given the nod to the service, although it has requested another meeting with Google prior to the UK Street View launch.

The system uses panoramic photographs to show locations in cities and towns, which are added to Google Street Maps. The technology debuted in the US in May last year.

Google Street View Hits Six New U.S. Cities

Google Street View Hits Six New U.S. Cities

While its legal status in Canada may still be up in the air, Google Street View has expanded into six new U.S. cities without problems. Google announced the addition on Tuesday on its Lat Long Blog. Online pedestrians can now peruse Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland and Tucson.

Besides the added locations, Google has also improved the quality of Street View imagery. Views in Phoenix, Tucson and Chicago are all high resolution, offering five levels of zoom. In cities with skyscrapers, such as Chicago’s Sears Tower, viewers can also pan to the tops of the buildings.

Google Street View Gets Blurry for Canada

It’s no secret that Google Street View caused a splash with privacy groups in the United States when it debuted in May, but there was ultimately no legal reason for complaint since all of the photos were taken on public streets. The same may not be true in Canada, where tougher privacy laws prohibit publishing photos of identifiable people without permission.

According to Reuters UK, Google may actually have to blur our faces and license plates from its Street View images if it launches the service in Canada. The only legally justified reasons for publishing identifiable images of non-consenting parties in Canada are for “journalistic, literary or artistic purposes.” Since Street View is strictly a commercial venture, Google would have to bend to the laws to stay within them.

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