Have you seen the Google mobile around your area yet? No not the Android phone, the Google automobile.
They're not hard to miss, with a ruddy great camera on the roof snapping away at our lives for the company's Street View service.
One place where Google and its all-seeing eye isn't welcomed is in the small town of Molfsee, in the northwest German state of Schleswig-Holstein.
Protecting privacy
The town's Christian Democratic Union wants to protect Molfsee's inhabitants by banning Google from filming there. The reason: Street View will aid criminals in forward-planning burglaries and the like. And, to be honest, he does have a point.
Google, however, has sullied any notion that Street View is an invasion of privacy, citing its service as a "way to explore neighbourhoods at a street level-virtually."
It's not just the CDU who has a problem with Street View, but also Germany's Federal Commissioner for Data Protection.
The Register cites an interview in Der Spiegel, where the commissioner notes that he has "severe misgivings" about the service.
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Your comments (3) Click to add a new comment
stewsofdoom
October 2nd 2008
3. pictures taken from public streets, its the same as you going out on the sidewalk and taking a picture and posting online. its a free country.
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sv4me
September 30th 2008
2. Street View is a useful tool. Hammers are useful tools, too, yet they've been used to commit crimes. Should we ban them?
I really can't see criminals using Street View as a way to plan their crimes. For one thing, it's more efficient to simply drive up and down streets to case a house. For another a potential criminal can get a lot more information on a house by simply driving down the street. Remember, the pictures are static and in most cases have been taken at least several months ago. Oftentimes, the resolution is poor. What can a burglar see that s/he can't see walking or driving down the street?
As for privacy issues - you can request removal of your home from Street View.
Mapper99 - any idea where on the map of Germany that icon is placed? If it's there it must be located at a high zoom level.
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mapper99
September 30th 2008
1. It won't be long before Google Street View is online in Germany. There have been reports of the Google Street View icon showing up on the map already for testing...
Mapper99
http://streetviewgallery.corank.com
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