Green light for Google's Street View

Thursday 23 April 2009 | By Heidi Scott, Gosh! Media Copywriter

Following complaints from privacy campaigners, the UK's Information Commissioner has ruled that Google Street View should be allowed to continue. The organisation's judgement was that, although Street View carries a small risk of privacy invasion, it should not be stopped and that banning the mapping service would be "disproportionate to the relatively small risk of privacy detriment".

The Street View service – which launched in the UK on 20th March this year and adds 360-degree street-level photos to maps – sparked complaints that it breaches the Data Protection Act. Although the technology automatically blurs people's faces and car number plates, the Information Commissioner received 75 complaints – including one from the pressure group Privacy International – asking for a suspension of the service due to the fact that individuals' faces could be identified from a number of Street View photos.

Representing the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), David Evans, Senior Data Practice Manager, said, "It is important to highlight that putting images of people on Google Street View is very unlikely to formally breach the Data Protection Act." He compared inclusion on Street View to passers-by being filmed on TV news reports from Britain's streets and football matches, adding that "there is no law against anyone taking pictures of people in the street as long as the person using the camera is not harassing people". He went on to explain, "In a world where many people tweet, Facebook and blog, it is important to take a common sense approach towards Street View and the relatively limited privacy intrusion it may cause." He concluded that it would not be in the public interest to "turn the digital clock back".

The Commissioner's ruling will be welcomed by Google and the millions of Street View users but has disappointed privacy activists. Simon Davies, Director of Privacy International, told The Times newspaper, "Our view is that the ICO is being mischievous at best. It has entirely misrepresented Privacy International's concerns and complaint. We never sought the shutdown of Google Street View, as this ruling implies. We wanted to get Google to focus on the technological solutions," he continued, "and to get the commissioner to uphold the principles behind the law. Instead, he has sacrificed principles for pragmatism, an approach we believe has already been responsible for many of the privacy invasions in Britain."

The Street View service has certainly caused considerable controversy since its launch, with residents of the village of Broughton in Buckinghamshire even preventing a Google Street View car – with its roof-mounted camera – from entering the village. The police had to be called after villagers accused Google of invading their privacy and facilitating crime.

The Mountain View giant has staunchly defended its Street View technology and says that it is acting quickly to remove specific images in the event of complaints. This claim was supported by the Information Commissioner's Office, although it said it would continue to monitor the service.

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