While we are inclined to believe Google when they say that some residents have already requested that their streets be included in the Street View service, it is hard to ignore the many others who are pretty much against having the service available in the first place.
Though not exactly embarrassing, Google had to take down an image of a naked male toddler being guided by what appears to be a parent and a nanny to the bath. Thus sight is one of several thousand captured by the Google car as it made its rounds through UK’s busy streets in order to obtain street level visual information of the location that will be uploaded into the service which will in turn be accessible to anyone online.
Complaints regarding the availability of such information has been condemned by many critics as it raises not only direct privacy concerns, but also the possibility that such information could be used by malicious individuals intending to rob from houses. Having this service automatically makes the concept of casing much easier and risk free for burglars.
At the same time, there are many people who would also like to have Google’s Street View to cover their locations (such as the above stated example). More importantly, the service will definitely be beneficial to commercial locations where getting more publicity and marketing is always important. The UK is one of the last big cities to get Street View available. Many other countries have already implemented the Google service which many users claim to be very helpful.
Google has stated that it takes privacy concerns seriously and will be willing to remove any so called offensive images and content which owners of locations upon request.
Read more information and details about the functions and limits of Google Street view at the Telegraph UK.
Tags: Google-Street-View