News
EU: Google street images are a problem
Categories: Web 2.0
15 May 2008
The European Union (EU) has warned any move to provide street-level pictures for Google Maps could cause problems, Reuters has reported.
Its data protection supervisor, Peter Hustinx, said: "Making pictures everywhere is certainly going to create some problems."
Currently, the popular programme's US users can change views to see low-level, 360-degree street scenes – to accomplish this in Europe, thousands more images would first need to be captured.
EU privacy laws currently forbid commercial photography of people without consent, although photographers often avoid complications by taking pictures that exclude faces.
As Street View is similar to CCTV, any plans to roll out the mapping software could also foul UK surveillance laws, enforced by the Information Commissioner's Office.
Its guidance reads: "Signs should be placed so that the public are aware that they are entering a zone which is covered by surveillance equipment."
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