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03-20-09, 06:22 PM
For the man emerging from a Soho sex shop and another being sick on the pavement outside an east London pub, Google's Street View proved a snapshot of modern life perhaps best not preserved. They are among a series of images that have been removed from the new mapping application, Google confirmed today, after complaints about invasion of privacy.
Street View, launched in the UK yesterday, allows users to access 360-degree views of roads and homes in 25 cities. It is the culmination of a year-long project that saw a fleet of specially modified cars covering 22,369 miles of roads and snapping away at their surroundings.
Google claims 99.9% of faces and number plates are blurred by its automated technology, but many people, perhaps taking a cigarette break outside their office, can still be identified if they are in the background.
Today the company could not confirm exactly how many complaints it had received, but moved to honour its pledge to deal promptly with offending images, removing or blacking them out. "When we launched, we explained how importantly we take privacy and we explained how easy it is to remove pictures," a Google spokeswoman said. "We have received a few removals in the last 24 hours but it is less than expected."
Users can log inappropriate content or privacy concerns by clicking on a link at the bottom of each scene. The spokeswoman said the search giant had also received compliments on the service and inquiries from people asking when their street would be included.
Ed Parsons, Google's geospatial technologist, said the information commissioner and police were consulted about Street View. "Privacy is really important to us. We recognise that there have been concerns about that and we think we have addressed those concerns. We have spoken to Scotland Yard and, from a crime point of view, they are happy with it, there are no issues there," he said.
A spokeswoman for the information commissioner's office said it was satisfied that adequate standards were in place to ensure people's privacy. "Although it is possible that, in certain limited circumstances, an image may allow the identification of an individual, it is clear that Google is keen to capture images of streets and not individuals," she said.
Street View images are taken from public roads, captured by a number of cars which have been driving around the UK since last summer. The cars are continuing to photograph streets, which will enable Google to extend the service to cover more cities.
The technology, launched in the US in 2007, is also available in the Netherlands, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain and Italy.
Guardian.co.uk
Street View, launched in the UK yesterday, allows users to access 360-degree views of roads and homes in 25 cities. It is the culmination of a year-long project that saw a fleet of specially modified cars covering 22,369 miles of roads and snapping away at their surroundings.
Google claims 99.9% of faces and number plates are blurred by its automated technology, but many people, perhaps taking a cigarette break outside their office, can still be identified if they are in the background.
Today the company could not confirm exactly how many complaints it had received, but moved to honour its pledge to deal promptly with offending images, removing or blacking them out. "When we launched, we explained how importantly we take privacy and we explained how easy it is to remove pictures," a Google spokeswoman said. "We have received a few removals in the last 24 hours but it is less than expected."
Users can log inappropriate content or privacy concerns by clicking on a link at the bottom of each scene. The spokeswoman said the search giant had also received compliments on the service and inquiries from people asking when their street would be included.
Ed Parsons, Google's geospatial technologist, said the information commissioner and police were consulted about Street View. "Privacy is really important to us. We recognise that there have been concerns about that and we think we have addressed those concerns. We have spoken to Scotland Yard and, from a crime point of view, they are happy with it, there are no issues there," he said.
A spokeswoman for the information commissioner's office said it was satisfied that adequate standards were in place to ensure people's privacy. "Although it is possible that, in certain limited circumstances, an image may allow the identification of an individual, it is clear that Google is keen to capture images of streets and not individuals," she said.
Street View images are taken from public roads, captured by a number of cars which have been driving around the UK since last summer. The cars are continuing to photograph streets, which will enable Google to extend the service to cover more cities.
The technology, launched in the US in 2007, is also available in the Netherlands, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain and Italy.
Guardian.co.uk