Google’s Street View feature on Google Maps is certainly no stranger to privacy concerns. It has attracted lawsuits, but it is still moving right along. Google even dismissed one lawsuit bringer as being “out of touch with the real world.”
They’ve been called out for violating trespassing laws in multiple places. A couple from Pittsburgh filed a suit against Google back in April for posting images of their home (which is located down a private access road) on Street View. Later there was an uproar in Sonoma and Humboldt Counties, California over the same issue.
Video from PressDemo.com
Google is now facing privacy issues in Japan after the Street View feature was made available for 12 major Japanese cities back in the summer. There has been a petition to get Street View terminated in the country, based on the claim that it “constitutes violent infringement on citizens.” Yahoo Tech News reports:
Local municipalities in Tokyo and Osaka have already appealed to the national government to take action against the site.
The Google Japanese unit earlier said it was blurring the faces of people seen in Street View scenes by special technology and that it would delete the pictures of people and buildings upon request.
Yahoo Tech News also notes that Japan has stricter protections on privacy than the U.S. where the service is often criticized for these issues. I wonder if those trying to get Street View banned in Japan know about Google’s deal with GeoEye.
