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EU Says Google Street View Violates Privacy

Posted by kdawson on from the watch-where-you-point-that-thing dept.

upto0013 notes the latest spot of trouble for Google in Europe: the EU says that Google's Street View images violate privacy laws. The EU's privacy watchdog asked Google to notify cities and towns before photographing (Google says it does this already) and to delete original photos after 6 months (Google keeps them for a year and says it has reason to do so). "[T]he privacy official] said that the company should revise its 'disproportionate' policy of keeping the original unblurred images for up to a year, saying improvements in Google's blurring technology and better public awareness would lead to fewer complaints — and a shorter delay for people to react to the photos they see on the site. Complaints about the images put online would usually be checked against the original photos."

4 of 300 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Police is investigating it too by megamerican · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Future quote from Eric Schmidt, Google CEO:

    "If you have something that you don't want anyone to see, maybe you shouldn't have it in the first place."

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    If you have something that you dont want anyone to know, maybe you shouldnt be doing it in the first place -Eric Schmidt
  2. Re:Screw the EU's privacy concerns by Haxamanish · · Score: 5, Informative

    The EU has been around since 1973?

    1951: European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
    1957: European Economic Community (EEC)
    1967: European Community (EC)
    1973: UK, Ireland & Denmark join EC
    1993: European Union (EU)

  3. Re:Photos in public by IndustrialComplex · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Higher than a double decker bus?

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    Out of modpoints but really liked a post? 1BDkF6TtmmeZ3yqXbz9yhdYVqRYnwFoXDj
  4. Re:how is the public private? by Sheik+Yerbouti · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You may feel that way but your feelings don't give you or anyone else the right to violate the rights of others to take pictures in a public place. I am a photographer and I bristle at the suggestion you have that right. Only because a lot of cops and people post 9/11 think that for some reason they do have the right to stop someone taking photographs in a public place. And they do not. Google has a right to do this taking photographs in a public place is legal the EU as usual is harping on companies out of bounds.

    I can't believe the hipocracy what with the thousands of surveillance cameras in EU member state Great Britain. There are actually people watching those specifically to violate the privacy of UK citizens where's the outrage there?