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Forget Your Privacy, Let Google Street View Publicly Identify You
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by Truemorist | March 23, 2009 at 08:56 pm
454 views | 3 Recommendations | 4 comments
Anyone who's ever used the internet, let alone social media sites and networks, knows that privacy is a digital illusion.
We are ever-more indexable, searchable, findable, contactable and now easily identifiable, publicly, for all the world to see. Google Street View's impressive street-level photographic technology has captured wonderfully-panoramic shots of some of the globe's most memorable metropolis' — but it has also allowed virtual insight into the private lives of citizens who happened to be caught in the blink of Google's omniscient eye.
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With those images then uploaded to its open internet portal, Google's gaze is coming under increasing fire and criticism for unwittingly identifying individuals the world over — and potentially posing "a security threat" rather than protecting their privacy as they had initially claimed.
In the UK, this has evolved into a formal complaint to the Information Commissioner to have the service "switched off" until Google has properly addressed the issue of individuals being made public without their consent.
Alas, for the time being, unless you happen to stumble across a Google-grabbed picture of yourself in an inadvertently compromising...er...position, you'll simply be left wondering about whehter or not you might need to have your privacy un-infringed.
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Truemorist
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (4)
at 08:45 on March 24th, 2009
Agree with last comment. Esta summed up the issue quite well in the second sentence. Legally, there are far more actions that can be performed in public view than in a private setting. Google is legitimately exploiting the freedom so no one can complain.
Evan
http://www.beyondrace.com
at 09:27 on March 24th, 2009
I Don't see how there can be an expectation of privacy within the internet realm . . .unless, of course, we're engaged in financial transactions, etc. But even at that, we're taking the "privacy" component at face value. If an individual is concerned about his or her privacy, then it is probably best for that individual to refrain from posting anything on the internet. A while ago, I did a Google search and during my search, some pictures, that I was familiar with, popped up. The pictures were posted to a "non-public" and "secure" site . . . .
at 16:16 on March 25th, 2009
Hi esta
yes well if they are doing something they shouldent there,s never a good ccd camera around when you need one i don't know if this is a privacies concern i thing that its a sociological concern public safety by google is ok
A Camera crazy world where the view accounts for one hundred words when this to me is just point to point product creation consumerism this is left wanting as a difficulty factor why should google have this art of fancies make things happen with the comfort of point and click i say we get to have a camera of google at work and then we can see how well this stuff work.
at 06:17 on March 30th, 2009
The street scenes that come up with google maps can be very helpful when searching for housing. Rental or Sale.
You get to see the house, the neighborhood, and surrounding areas.
A car or van or...? traveling up and down the streets taking shots or video may be a hint not to kiss a stranger or extramarital lover while passing. Don't pull out your gun and wave it in the cameraman's face. or camerawoman's.