How to put blinders on Google Street View
Google Maps Street View (more coverage) is about the coolest mapping application I've ever seen. And the creepiest. On it, you can see people walking into adult bookstores (and you thought Google only tracked your porn habits online), license plates on cars parked in driveways, and women inadvertently (presumably) flashing their underwear at the Google cameras.
But there's a way for users to block Street View images. Just as governments have asked Google to blur the overhead images of Google Maps, you can ask Google to censor street-level photos. It's easy: just click on "Street View Help," on the offending image, and then "Report inappropriate image."
Step 1: Click Help. Step 2: Click on Report inappropriate.
You have to give a reason for the takedown request (security, privacy, indecency, or other), and it's not clear how quickly or completely Google will react to these requests, nor what will happen if Google gets overwhelmed with requests. And who's the judge of what's a legit request? Can a shop owner get an image of a competing store's location removed? Can a woman who doesn't want her cat to be visible block images? (Apparently not, according to the New York Times.)
But if you've inadvertently flashed Google, or perhaps if you don't want your spouse to see your car parked in your ex's driveway, now you know how to get the ball rolling to recover your privacy.
Step 3: Choose a complaint.
Found on Search Engine RoundTable via Digg.
Rafe Needleman writes about start-ups, new technologies, and Web 2.0 products, as editor of CNET's Webware. E-mail Rafe.
As sadly frequent as this kind of violation may be in our everyday life (media like TV, newspapers or websites being the usual suspects here):
in Europe (at least), taking the picture of someone, filming him, and then making the result available to public access in ANY way is a violation of privacy. And this is part of the most elementary procedures to protect privacy - "here in Europe", anyway.
It has become VERY easy to take anyone's picture in the street without his/her knowledge, but you are legally BOUND to ask this persons permission if you want to use that picture for any other purpose than viewing the result at home.
Just i.e., the appearance of cameras on cell phones has made it easy for boys from age 7 to 77 to take pictures from under a girl's dress or skirt; you can see an "ISSUE" here, I should think?
Well: it happens a lot, not many of these stolen-panties-picture-artists get caught - but that doesn't mean it's alright or legal, does it?
I find it difficult to imagine that in the USA, such a blunt invasion of your legitimate RIGHT OVER YOUR OWN IMAGE shouldn't be covered by the law.
If it isn't - if in the USA, you CAN actually take a picture of your neighbour and post it in God knows what context on the web WITHOUT BREAKING ANY LAW, then, please, let me know, I'd be very interested.
I fear that it could become almost unusable in the policy continues.
If you are looking for some Street View finds I have a site here:
http://www.mapmole.com
Feel free to view, vote and submit.