Google’s new application Street View is a new wave of technology. Although the disputes on invading our privacy seem rational, the worry is unnecessary. There should be no concerns regarding this issue because the pictures Google captures is from a public area. Ultimately, the pictures can be placed on the internet since they were taken from the public. The law states that you can take a picture of anything you can see as long you are in a public place. Let’s say a picture was taken from inside your home, and posted up on the internet. then it would be considered as an invasion of privacy.
Google blurred out faces and license plates for security and confidentiality matters. However, if someone still feels insecure about their photo on the internet, they could contact Google and they will be more than happy to take down the photo. There have already been a lot of complaints and even a few legal issues. A couple sued Google, claiming that a picture of their home is an invasion of privacy.
Google Street view is very useful. When traveling, you can look up the address on Street view so you can get an image of the place. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with roads. Therefore, I quite often use Google Street View as a helpful tool to recognize streets. People could even visit a country via internet. In fact, Street View is so helpful that it caught someone committing a crime.
Google blurred out faces and license plates for security and confidentiality matters. However, if someone still feels insecure about their photo on the internet, they could contact Google and they will be more than happy to take down the photo. There have already been a lot of complaints and even a few legal issues. A couple sued Google, claiming that a picture of their home is an invasion of privacy.
Google Street view is very useful. When traveling, you can look up the address on Street view so you can get an image of the place. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with roads. Therefore, I quite often use Google Street View as a helpful tool to recognize streets. People could even visit a country via internet. In fact, Street View is so helpful that it caught someone committing a crime.
Maybe the world isn’t ready to take on a new generation of technology. But it’s a waste to see Google’s hard efforts and work go down the drain due to the publics’ pessimistic thoughts.
Picture from:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/nollpost/mrnspace/google%20street%20views/crime.jpg
1 comments:
I agree with you that Google's Street View application should not be shut down, due to the fact that all their hard work would go to waste and Google did in fact create Street View with good intentions. I also agree that Google Street View is a useful tool when it is being used for purposes such as familiarizing yourself with unfamiliar environments.
Although, I realize that Google is not violating any privacy laws by taking their pictures on public spaces, I can see that the pictures can cause some problems. For example, if a photograph of a house was posted up on the internet showing many expensive electronics inside, then this may make the house a target for thieves, or if a picture had caught someone doing something they weren't supposed to do such as sneaking out, it may cause problems for them. I also believe that blurring out faces do not do much, as you can still make out who a person is, if you know them well enough.
Other than the above selected problems with the application, I have no more issues with Google Street View and agree with everything else you have said in your blog post.