Google is back on the news front again, as it prepares to launch its famous Street View mapping tool in the UK.
It is already causing a stir, however, as UK privacy group Privacy International has voiced concerns over the mapping system, which aims to capture photographic images of locations in the UK that can be then matched to their location on a map. What's more, this isn't the first time the search engine has had a run in with the watchdog - last year, it published its concerns over Google's privacy practices in a high-profile report.
Privacy International believes that data protection laws are being broken with the new technology; Simon Davis from Privacy International told the BBC: "In our view they need a person's consent if they make use of a person's face for commercial ends".
It may be new for the UK, but Street View is already in operation in the US and has resulted in some complaints, with visible individuals requesting that Google remove their image from particular locations. Up to now, Google, in adherence to local privacy laws has cooperated with such requests and blurred any revealing pictures. However, with Privacy International's involvement, developments in the UK may have to be postponed.
That's because the technology being used to help blur the faces of individuals in the images is now being questioned by the group, who are threatening to report Google to the Information Commissioner should they not report further details on the blurring technology within seven days. If Google does not write back within that timeframe then there'll be no Street View for the UK..
Street View has caused problems for other countries too, including Canada and Australia. The reason this case is such an issue for the UK is that, when a picture is being taken for commercial purposes, Google will be required to seek consent from the individual; in the US, the same laws don't apply.
As a result, the UK may not yet be ready (or permitted) to use Street View until Google and Privacy International become friends.
