Privacy International, a privacy group that filed a complaint with the United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner last month asking the Google Street View be banned, has been shot down. The office of the Commissioner issued a 2500 word response to the complaint saying, in essence, that Google responds in a timely fashion to citizen requests for image removal from the street-level imagery.
From The Guardian:
David Evans, senior data protection practice manager said: “Watch the TV news any day this week and you will see people walking past reporters in the street. In the same way, 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.
“Google Street View does not contravene the Data Protection Act and, in any case, it is not in the public interest to turn the digital clock back. 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 added: “As a regulator we take a pragmatic and common-sense approach. Any images of people’s faces or numberplates should be blurred. We emphasized the importance of blurring these images to protect people’s privacy and limit privacy intrusion. Google must respond quickly to deletion requests and complaints, as it is doing at the moment.”
This isn’t the first time Google has won a suit alleging its mapping practices intrude upon the public’s privacy. American couple Aaron and Christine Boring lost a privacy suit against Google in February 2009 after claiming Google took a picture of their house, causing mental suffering and diluting their home value.