Four days ago, Google’s Global Privacy Counsel wrote a blog post about Street View and respecting other countries’ laws. At the time, we believed his comments were directed at Canada. But they may also apply to England; what appears to be one of Google Street View’s camera cars has been sighted in London.
Google Street View Spreads To Europe?
Sergio Gasparrini, Dvorak Uncensored’s London correspondent, deserves credit for the capture. His picture shows a black Volkswagen Beetle with a camera tripod strapped on top. Unfortunately, the picture’s rather blurry, so some conclusions just can’t be drawn.
If, for example, we could see whether the car was left- or right-hand drive, we might get an idea of Google’s commitment to Street View overseas. A right-hand drive Beetle would likely have been purchased in Europe and meant to stay in Europe. A left-hand drive car could have been shipped from the U.S., and might return again in short order.
Pictures of the car’s license plates or tags might yield similar hints, but alas, they’re not available.
In any case, it looks like part of London is getting the Street View treatment, and we’ll be sure to keep an eye out for further developments. Google was not available for comment on the matter.
