24 March 2009 | Author: Yasmin Sulaiman
It was really only a matter of time: five days after Google Street View was launched in the UK, Google's old nemesis - Privacy International (PI) - has announced that it has submitted a formal complaint about the service to the Information Commissioner (ICO).
According to the privacy watchdog, over 200 members of the public have complained that they are publicly identifiable on Street View, which uses blurring technology to protect the identity of people it photographs. However, the high number of complaints received by PI has raised some concerns about the effectiveness of Google's blurring tool.
The BBC states that the ICO gave Google permission to launch its Street View service in the UK in July 2008 following assurances on the way in which it blurs faces and vehicle registration plates. But PI director Simon Davies says that the "few misses" Google said might occur was a "gross underestimation", and has asked the ICO to shut down Street View until an investigation is completed.
This isn't the first time Google has had an altercation with PI. Back in 2007, the watchdog rated the search engine as having the worst privacy policy of all the major internet companies. Significant players like Yahoo!, AOL, Microsoft and eBay were all judged to be lacking in their attitudes to user data but Google was ranked the worst for its "numerous deficiencies and hostilities to privacy". However, Google has made a number of changes to its privacy options since then, including placing a link directly to its privacy policy on its famously uncluttered homepage.
Street View has caused concern across the world following launches in the US, Canada and Australia, to name just a few. However, these complaints have historically tended to die down after some weeks, when users realise that having their images removed from the service is relatively easy. Since the March 19 launch of the UK's Street View feature, "hundreds" of images are said to have been removed and replaced with a blank image.
According to The Telegraph, the ICO said: "We will look at the complaint that Privacy International have made and we will respond shortly. What we have been saying for some time - over the last few days - is that it is Google's responsibility to make sure that the images that they use are blurred satisfactorily.
"If anybody is not happy with an image that they see then they should contact Google and get it taken down."
Last week, data from Hitwise revealed that traffic to Google Maps was up 41 per cent following the Street View launch, accounting for one in every 250 UK internet visits - the busiest day ever for the site in the country.
Privacy International launches formal complaint against Street View
It was really only a matter of time: five days after Google Street View was launched in the UK, Google's old nemesis - Privacy International (PI) - has announced that it has submitted a formal complaint about the service to the Information Commissioner (ICO).According to the privacy watchdog, over 200 members of the public have complained that they are publicly identifiable on Street View, which uses blurring technology to protect the identity of people it photographs. However, the high number of complaints received by PI has raised some concerns about the effectiveness of Google's blurring tool.
The BBC states that the ICO gave Google permission to launch its Street View service in the UK in July 2008 following assurances on the way in which it blurs faces and vehicle registration plates. But PI director Simon Davies says that the "few misses" Google said might occur was a "gross underestimation", and has asked the ICO to shut down Street View until an investigation is completed.
This isn't the first time Google has had an altercation with PI. Back in 2007, the watchdog rated the search engine as having the worst privacy policy of all the major internet companies. Significant players like Yahoo!, AOL, Microsoft and eBay were all judged to be lacking in their attitudes to user data but Google was ranked the worst for its "numerous deficiencies and hostilities to privacy". However, Google has made a number of changes to its privacy options since then, including placing a link directly to its privacy policy on its famously uncluttered homepage.
Street View has caused concern across the world following launches in the US, Canada and Australia, to name just a few. However, these complaints have historically tended to die down after some weeks, when users realise that having their images removed from the service is relatively easy. Since the March 19 launch of the UK's Street View feature, "hundreds" of images are said to have been removed and replaced with a blank image.
According to The Telegraph, the ICO said: "We will look at the complaint that Privacy International have made and we will respond shortly. What we have been saying for some time - over the last few days - is that it is Google's responsibility to make sure that the images that they use are blurred satisfactorily.
"If anybody is not happy with an image that they see then they should contact Google and get it taken down."
Last week, data from Hitwise revealed that traffic to Google Maps was up 41 per cent following the Street View launch, accounting for one in every 250 UK internet visits - the busiest day ever for the site in the country.
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