Google Street View concerns 'weightless'

Google's Street View service has come under fire in recent months for infringing on privacy rights. However, analysts say these worries don't have much justification.

Web and digital media lawyer Paul Jacobson says concerns about privacy infringements with Google Street View have sparked a controversy in SA.

The service is a visual layer which Google recently added to its Google Maps offering, and which has been available in a number of other countries worldwide for some time now, he explains.

He adds that one of the concerns about Google Street View was expressed by MD of MUA Insurance, Christelle Fourie, who stated the service infringes on people's right to privacy.

“I don't necessarily agree with Fourie,” says Jacobson. “Privacy and Google Street View is largely a question of when people have a legitimate expectation of privacy. If the Street View cameras only present imagery of views that are publicly available, there may not be a legitimate expectation of privacy and no invasion of privacy.”

Julie Taylor, head of communications and public affairs at Google SA, explains the imagery available on Street View is no different from what people can see when walking down the street themselves, or when viewing images that are already available on a number of real estate and directory sites.

WWW Strategy MD Steven Ambrose agrees, asking what the definition of privacy is in general. “Yes, there are privacy concerns but what are you hiding? It's the people that have Porsches that they didn't tell SARS about that are worried.”

Ambrose calls the privacy concerns an overreaction. “It's a paranoid backlash against the unknown. Change is hard. People didn't grow up with this and they struggle with it. But that's the way the world is heading.”

“It's also important to note that Street View is not 'real-time' and images will be at least several months old when published online. While the Street View feature in Google Maps has many positive personal, tourism and business uses, Google respects the fact that people may not want imagery they feel is inappropriate featured on the service. Google provides easily accessible tools for flagging sensitive imagery for review and removal,” says Taylor.

She adds that there is a tool at the bottom of the window that users may make use of to remove images of their houses, or to submit a request for additional blurring.

“We use automatic blurring technology to blur faces and licence plates. Although blurring technology may occasionally miss a number plate or face, it catches the majority of these images and is a very effective tool. If someone wants to report an image for further blurring, they can do so easily using the 'report a problem' button on the bottom left of an image and we will apply additional blurring manually.”

Reuters reported that critics say the tool invites abuse.

Concerns are that thieves can search for targets, security firms could use the data for sales pitches, job-seekers might find their homes scrutinised by employers, and banks could inspect the homes of loan applicants.

Jacobson does not agree that these are all necessarily major threats. “I don't think a bank can get a very accurate sense of the property just by looking at Google Street View.”

He says it's just a useful tool for finding locations since a user can zoom in to the exact address they are heading to and can pinpoint their destination.

Ambrose adds that if thieves are targeting a house, they can just drive past and see what Street View would show. “Yes, thieves could target homes, but what's new?

“The fact is that the Internet is invasive. The days where you can wander around the world anonymously are far gone. But the benefits of the technology far outweigh any concerns for privacy.”

Reuters also reported that the UK, Korea, Canada, the US and Germany are all either investigating privacy complaints, or monitoring the service.

It also said Google will hand over data it collected through wireless networks to French, German and Spanish authorities as it faced mounting legal issues concerning its data collection.

The problem arose when Google disclosed it collected private data while taking photographs for the Street View service. Camera-equipped fleets of cars were used to take panoramic pictures for the online atlas and private data sent over unencrypted WiFi networks were gathered by mistake.

“We announced that we had mistakenly included code in our software in Street View cars that collected WiFi payload data. As soon as we discovered our error, we not only stopped collecting WiFi data entirely, but also grounded our fleet of cars globally to give us time to remove the WiFi scanning equipment and discuss what had happened with local regulators,” says Taylor.

“The WiFi data collection equipment has been removed from our cars in each country. Our cars will no longer collect any WiFi information at all, and will only collect photos and 3D imagery.”

The local version of Street View was launched in June.

"This is a first for Africa, and a really exciting development for South Africans, who can now explore their country in new ways, whether a local neighbourhood in the city, or a scenic costal route they've never seen,” says Taylor.

The company has photographed streets in South African towns and cities that allow a full 360-degree view of any given point in the streets.