Naked child on Street View sparks outcry
Google forced to remove hundreds of images
Google has been forced to take down a huge number of images from its recently announced UK Street View service after members of the public were upset at pictures taken by the Google car.
The main 'talking point' came about when an image of a naked toddler was captured at a family picnic in London. Some media outlets have suggested that the presence of such images could lead to more 'sinister' purposes.
Other pictures taken down included people leaving noted sex shops, and drunken revellers vomiting in the street as umbrage was apparently taken with the state of Britain being shown online.
The ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair's house was removed, as well as images of Downing St, presumably in case of a terrorist attack, despite it being a public street that's regularly photographed by tourists.
Investigation
The Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, has said that there will be an investigation into the service should more naked children appear, despite Google maintaining that Street View is nothing more than a snapshot of life taken last summer.
A spokesperson from the Information Commissioner's Office told TechRadar: "We've been assured the correct safeguards have been put in place, although if people are concerned [over their privacy] they can raise those with us.
Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.
"We don't think Google have put in any specific targets [related to the amount of faces that must be blurred] although it must be a proportionate level, one where people's privacy and personal information is not put at risk.
"Of course, if anyone has any concerns they can contact us and we will look into it."
Google has also pointed out that any issues the public has with the images can click on the 'report concern' link at the bottom left of the screen, and it will act promptly to withdraw any pictures that are causing users distress.
Via The Independent
Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grew with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.