The main street of Grindelwald is shown on a Google employee's mobile device as he poses for photographers on the launch of the Google Street View application at Google office in Zurich August 18, 2009.
(Christian Hartmann/REUTERS)Photos (1 of 1)
Swiss official tells Google to erase street views
Hanspeter Thuer, Switzerland’s federal data protection commissioner, said Google’s pictures were violating Switzerland’s strict privacy laws by failing to obscure people’s identities on the mapping service, which offers detailed street-level images.
By Bradley S. Klapper | Associated Press/ August 24, 2009 edition
BERN, Switzerland
A Swiss government official is demanding that Google Inc. immediately take off the Internet any “Street View” images of Switzerland, and the company said Monday it would work to resolve problems with the privacy rights regulator.
Hanspeter Thuer, Switzerland’s federal data protection commissioner, said Google’s pictures were violating Switzerland’s strict privacy laws by failing to obscure people’s identities on the mapping service, which offers detailed street-level images.
“Numerous faces and license numbers weren’t blurred or were done so inadequately,” said Thuer’s statement, adding that he “demands that Google Inc. immediately take its Google Street View online service off the Internet” until it can ensure that public images respect Swiss law.
Since launching in 2007, Street View has expanded to more than 100 cities worldwide but has faced privacy complaints from many individuals and institutions that have been photographed.
Greece’s Data Protection Authority rejected Google’s bid earlier this year to roam Greek streets with cameras mounted on vehicles, while the Pentagon barred Google from photographing U.S. military bases for the service.
Residents of a small English village formed a human chain in April to stop one of Google’s camera vans, while in Japan some complained that the service provided a view over the fences around their homes, prompting Google to agree to re-shoot all photos in the country.
Thuer met with Google on Monday, and his office said a number of questions remained open.
Google said in a statement it would hold further discussions to “demonstrate our industry-leading applications for protecting the private sphere.”
“Since the launch last week the product has proven to be very popular with the Swiss people,” said Peter Fleischer, Google’s global privacy counsel. “Google Maps had an 80 percent increase in volume and only a small number of requests to erase pictures.”
Google Switzerland spokesman Matthias Meyer said these problems needed to be understood in the context of millions of pictures. When complaints have been made, Google has responded.
“In cases where a deletion or further blending was demanded, we have shown that our technology works very effectively,” Meyer said. “In most cases, the pictures are deleted within hours.”
One Swiss image made news over the weekend as it clearly captured national parliamentarian Ruedi Noser on the street walking with a woman.
The woman has been identified as his assistant, but the weekly NZZ am Sonntag quoted Noser as demanding the “instant shutdown of Street View” until Google can guarantee that it properly hides the identities of people in 100 percent of cases.
“There is probably no problem for my wife, as you could also recognize my companion in the picture,” the paper quoted Noser as saying.
The Swiss media has been littered with negative reactions to the images, but the pro-business NZZ urged a cautious regulatory response.
“Shutting it down would be wrong,” it said in an opinion article. “The people in the pictures are coincidental extras and not victims of paparazzi.”
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Comments
2. Paula | 08.26.09
Google Street View is very helpful for those who are able to follow a map, but need to see what the view from the windshield is to be sure they are not missing a turn. In many places, the street may be named on the map, but not have a street sign when you actually get there. I have found it helpful to tell folks exactly what address to enter to see the particular building where my company is located, for instance. Our address is #300, but the addressing on Google Maps is “approximate” so entering #264 shows the actual doorway on this large building where our visitors should come in.
3. Daniel | 08.27.09
Google maps street view can be extremely helpful when looking for a location. It’s one thing to have directions to a place and another to see where that place is with your own two eyes. Street view allows you to feel as though you’ve already been to your destination before you get there. It’s saved me tons of headaches; I get lost very easily.
4. LeaveNoLiberalUnturned | 08.31.09
So, Swiss officials have a problem with Google’s street view, but when the fascist Obamites demand that the time-honored Swiss banking privacy be violated, they roll over like a kicked puppy. Craven cowardly Euro-7r@$h…
5. leo | 09.01.09
It’s hard not to over-emphasize how helpful a tool Street View is in trying to figure out just what kind of neighborhood or surroundings you’re going into.
Places without it are simply blind-spots of our digital age.
That said, it seems what the Swiss officials want is reasonable — and can be fixed.
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1. Emily | 08.24.09
I’ve been thinking about this for a while but still haven’t found an answer. What is the purpose and benefit of having Google Street View in the first place? Apart from a cool way to look at your neighborhood, it seems to only have a purely entertainment value.
Google Maps I understand… its a vital new way of finding your way around places. Maybe even Google Earth… but Google Street View? What’s the point?