Google takes down Street View images

 

Gallery

Posted on 20 Mar 2009 at 17:12

Google has taken down some of the images used in its new mapping tool Street View. Some users have complained about the images used in the company's new tool, forcing Google to take down the images and leave gaps in its coverage.

Reports suggest that the offending images include revealing images of homes, a man entering a sex shop in London, people being arrested and a man being sick.

Google insists that Street View only uses photographs that are taken on public property and is "no different from what a person can readily see or capture walking down the street". It has blurred out the faces of all users and vehicle licence plates, and the company said that this type of imagery is widely available for cities all around the world. However, the company said in a statement that it has made it easy for users to report images that they're concerned about.

"If a user finds an image that they consider objectionable they can report it by clicking 'report a concern' in the bottom left hand corner of the Street View image. Here there is an easily accessible link to report inappropriate imagery. Once the claim is verified, the image is removed," the company explained.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has backed the tool, and insists that the measures Google has taken to protect individuals' privacy are sufficient.

"We are satisfied that Google is putting in place adequate safeguards to avoid any risk to the privacy or safety of individuals," the ICO said in a statement. "Although it is possible that in certain limited circumstances an image may allow the identification of an individual, it is clear that Google are keen to capture images of streets and not individuals."

The ICO added that images are not real time and there is a delay between taking an image and its publication so that it can not be used to find out an individual's current whereabouts.

Author: Dawinderpal Sahota