Street View Could Face Privacy Backlash In Germany

Google has claimed that less than three percent of German households have asked Street View to obscure images of their homes. The company may not comply fully at launch and that could trigger court action.

German privacy officials voiced their alarm in 2009 when Google announced its plans to launch Street View in 20 German cities. The company reacted by setting up an online tool with which people could request the removal of images before they are published online. It also said that any objectors without an Internet connection could contact the company by letter.

May serve Google writ

The resulting 244,327 requests may be a small figure as a percentage but Google has admitted to problems in satisfying the demands before the launch date.

“Given how complex the process is, there will be some houses that people asked us to blur that will be visible when we launch the imagery in a few weeks time,” said Andreas Turk, product manager for Street View in Germany. “We’ve worked very hard to keep the numbers as low as possible but in any system like this there will be mistakes.”

Privacy has always been a major issue in Germany and Google could be stiring up trouble if it does not make the changes before the launch. The company’s failure to act in time when it already knows of the objectors wishes will be viewed dimly by the German courts. Especially after the Wi-Fi data collection scandal was highlighted so prominently in the country.

Germany Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said the government will introduce a new privacy code in December, inviting Google and other Internet companies to submit suggestions for self-regulation before then.

Ongoing controversy

Street View has been facing a tough week, with Canadian privacy officials taking legal action over Google’s unintentional Wi-Fi data collection. Czech data protection authorities also recently rejected an application by Google to collect personal data for its mapping service, and the company’s South Korean headquarters were raided in August by police looking for evidence of illegally stored data.

Despite the ongoing controversy, however, Google extended its Street View service earlier this month to cover all seven continents, incorporating new images from Brazil, Ireland and Antarctica.