Google Japan To Help Victims of Street View Abuse

Joshua writes "After repeated concerns from Japanese citizens over privacy rights violations involving Street View and a probe by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Google Japan has announced that it will help victims of Street View photo abuse take action against offending sites. Google Japan said it would send requests to the sites for removal of maliciously used Street View images. It will also potentially block the site from Google's search engine and consider legal action for those sites which ignore or refuse the request. Action to this extent against secondary-use abusers is reportedly a first in relationship to Google's Street View worldwide."

Comments

Examples?

[oheso]

The story lacks any examples of what might constitute malicious abuse. I'm aware of the Streisand Effect, but if there have been lots of complaints then there should be some examples.

But the main point is the Google is responding to criticism of an invasion of privacy with a rather blatant attempt to redirect the arrow. "Yes! We published these photos and we're here to help you prosecute anyone who republishes them!"

Please ... Japanese value their privacy. (Well, some do anyway.) If republication of the photos has led to bullying, should Google share in the responsibility?

Re:Examples?

[Trepidity]

There are entire sites devoted to ridiculing people and things found on Google Street View, which I assume is the kind of thing the complaints are about.

Re:Examples?

[siloko]

The story lacks any examples of what might constitute malicious abuse.

From TFA: "More recent complaints have been about secondary sites using Googles photos maliciously, such as for discrimination and bullying." Ok so no specific examples are given but I guess google isn't just reacting to hot air!

But the main point is the Google is responding to criticism of an invasion of privacy with a rather blatant attempt to redirect the arrow.

Well this is their second attempt at redirecting this particular arrow, the first resulted in them retaking 'numerous images about 16 inches lower than the original Street View picture height', which sounds rather bizarre!

Whatever they do 'shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted' springs to mind . . .

Re:Examples?

[oheso]

It's not too bizarre. It puts the camera below the height of many privacy walls/fences. But still, the journalist should be calling Google out on this rather than simply regurgitating the press release.

Re:Examples?

[rtb61]

Well, it would be a bit hard to complain about the camera if it takes one photo every few years or so and dumps them in with, what, billions of other images, meh, it wouldn't bother me at all. Of course to be fair, my street is not on google view although it is in the middle of numerous other streets that are. just one of those odd google street view quirks.

In quite little old Adelaide, SA, I have found people are more irritated by their address not being properly defined on street view and not being above to say email the google link as driving directions, rather than their property of themselves showing up on street view. Perhaps it is a personal space thing, in countries like Australia where there is a lot of personal space available are more comfortable to rather impersonal distant incursions and, people in Japan who are basically stacked one atop another with very little personal space are more reactive of incursions whilst seemingly are more willing to specifically intrude upon another person's space.

Of course one has to wonder how much google's competitors secretly motivate opposition to google's street because they lack a comparable service. When it comes to finding a place on a map, MSN search, Yahoo et all suck in comparison to being able to take a squiz ( http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/news/australian_style/v16_no1/word_column.htm ) at a place and it's approaches before you get there, it certainly makes life easy and, I have to admit to being a bit of a google street view tourist.

Re:Examples?

[Anonymous Coward]

The root of the problem is not privacy, it is discrimination, human rights problems and how Japanese unwilling to deal with it. Here we go again: Google Earth maps out discrimination against burakumin caste in Japan.

This is 2005: UN Independent Investigator Raps Japan for Discrimination. Quote: "An independent investigator from the U.N. Commission on Human Rights says he will report that discrimination in Japan is "deep and profound....Mr. Doudou Diene told reporters in Tokyo he found no strong political will to combat racism and discrimination. He also noted what he called a strong xenophobic drive among the Japanese public. This xenophobic drive is expressed by associating minorities, certain minorities, to crime, to violence, to dirt," he said....Mr. Diene said the worst discrimination appears to be the problems a Japanese social outcast group, KNOWN AS "BURAKUMIN" face with finding housing and employment. He called their condition "shocking and terrible," and said their plight would be included in his preliminary report.".

Another example: Racial Discrimination in Japan. Quote "Japan is not usually synonymous with racism in Western media, unlike Mississippi or Soweto, but its society is pretty racist nonetheless....Also, the Japanese landlords do not normally hang out a "For Rent" sign at an apartment building. They go to a "fudosan"- a real estate agency to help them find tenants. However, try and check out some signs near your local "fudosan"- you can usually see those that say: "NO ANIMALS, NO PROSTITUTES, NO FOREIGNERS." Lovely, isn't it?.";

and another: "JAPANESE ONLY" SIGNS IN MISAWA, JAPAN;

and another: U.N. Urges Japan to Stop Discrimination against Korean School Children and Education;

and another: Japanese Discrimination Against Women;

and another: Housing Discrimination in Japan;

and another: Foreigners in Japan say openness all talk. Quote "I went to almost 25 real estate agents trying to get them to show me apartments," she recalled. "Finally, one of them took me aside and said, 'Japanese don't like to rent to foreigners. Many Japanese actually hate foreigners....Without a doubt, Japan is the most discriminatory place I have ever lived in";

Wikipedia: Ethnic issues in Japan

Which makes me wonder, are non-Japanese allowed to buy Japanese products?

Opt out

[saskboy]

They could just opt out, as The Onion explains how.

I may need to opt out, as I saw the Google Car south of Moose Jaw as I was driving by. At first I thought it was a car with a bike on top, but then I saw it was a big camera system. I was looking right at it too! And my face has never appeared on the Internet before (while I've been in my car). I'm gravely worried (but not really).

Help?

[Korbeau]

If I understand this correctly, Google (as the main, can we say unique?, search engine out there) will be filtering its service - a neutral search engine - to accommodate other products it owns (street view)?

Can Google be morally anything other than a search engine?

Re:Help?

[siloko]

Can Google be morally anything other than a search engine?

Now that's not a sentence you hear every day, care to explain what it means?

Re:I guess I can see their point

[Anonymous Coward]

Not in Japan it wouldn't.