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GOOGLE STREETVIEW SPARKS NEW PRIVACY FEARS AHEAD OF ITS UK RELEASE!

Ongoing plans by Google to photograph millions of British homes and publish them online have been condemned as a 'gross invasion of privacy' by the Information Commissioner Richard Thomas.

The internet giant's StreetView website will allow anyone in the world to type in a UK address or postcode and instantly see a 360-degree picture of the street. The detailed non-live stills will include close-ups of buildings, cars and people with blurred-out faces. But critics say the site is a 'burglar's charter' that makes it easy for criminals to check out potential victims.

The pictures also show people leaving and entering hospitals, health clinics, adult shops and hotels. Although their faces are deliberately blurred, many could still be recognised by their clothing and hair colour. The Streetview site was launched in major American cities last year and has been lauded has the housebuyer's best friend.

But Google refuses to say when the British version will go online - but cars emblazoned with the company's logo and carrying massive 360-degree cameras have been spotted circling the streets of British cities in recent weeks and it is thought the UK release of Streetview is imminent.

The data watchdog, the Information Commissioner's office, is so concerned about StreetView that it has written to Google demanding privacy 'guarantees' but US and UK spy agencies have been watching our streets for years and Richard Thomas has not complained - he has been accused of outright hypocrisy by privacy campaigners.

StreetView is designed to complement Google Earth, a collection of satellite pictures that covers every square mile of the globe. Google Earth has come under fire for the level of detail in its overhead pictures, which have become enormously popular and here at News Alliance we often use Google Earth.

But the Streetview pictures don't just show which homes have swimming pools or tennis courts, they can reveal the model and colour of cars, whether gardens have furniture and even sunbathers lying outside. Critics say the site can be used by burglars planning escape routes from homes and by terrorists looking for military bases. And there is little doubt that Streetview can be used for criminal reconnaissance! The site has even been used by teenagers arranging unauthorised swimming parties in unoccupied homes.

Users of the new StreetView website can either browse maps of towns before clicking on a street view, or type in an address or postcode. By clicking on arrows on the screen, users will feel like they are walking down the street and will be able to look right, left or behind them during their virtual tour.

The images show which homes belong to wealthy owners, which have easy access for burglars, which have expensive cars parked outside and which have alarm boxes. And although the pictures are not 'live' - they will be updated once every few years - the website has also raised concerns about people photographed by the roving cameras but the British sheeple have already become the most surveilled on earth.



The Information Commissioner's Office said Google would have to avoid showing people's faces. A spokesman said: 'There is a risk that StreetView could identify individuals alongside their place of work or places they are visiting.

'In most instances this will not have a serious impact on people's privacy, however identifying an individual outside some premises, for instance health clinics and hospitals, could raise serious privacy issues. For this reason we would expect Google to take measures to ensure privacy rights are not infringed, for example blurring all images of individuals to ensure privacy rights are maintained. We are contacting Google to discuss the issue in further detail.'

The campaign group Privacy International warned that the website could be a massive invasion of privacy. It is to lodge a formal complaint with Google unless the company can guarantee that number plates and faces will be blurred. Director Simon Davies said: 'Google has made similar privacy assurances in the past and nothing has come of them.'

Paul Gilbert, a media lawyer at London law firm Finers Stephens Innocent, said taking pictures at street level and joining them up to create a map did not breach privacy laws in the UK. 'However, if the pictures captured the inside of a person's house by taking a photograph through the window, then the homeowner may be justified in claiming a breach of privacy,' he said.

Google makes money from its websites through advertising. It believes StreetView will be popular with tourists picking holiday destinations, housebuyers wanting to explore neighbourhoods, and shoppers trying to find stores. It wants to encourage businesses to include links to the site on their own homepages.

Google said all faces were blurred automatically by its software, but refused to say whether number plates would also be disguised. A spokesman said: 'We will not launch in the UK until we are comfortable StreetView complies with local law, including law relating to the display of images of individuals. We will use technology, like face-blurring, and operational controls, such as image removal tools, so StreetView remains useful and in keeping with local norms wherever it is available.'

Anyone who thinks their face is recognisable can email Google and ask to have the image disguised, he said.

In Britain, anyone is allowed to take a picture of a house or a street and put it on the Internet. But if some pictures show the inside of someone's house, even inadvertently, then homeowners could show their privacy has been breached under common law.

Similarly, we are legally entitled to take pictures of people, even complete strangers, and post them on the Internet. But the greater concern is Google's growing power which is already massive and will remain so until people stop using its services or governments take action to end its internet monopoly in the same way that action was taken against Microsoft.

This latest storm in a teacup comes on the back of news last week that Google has been ordered to hand over the data of all YouTube users to Viacom.



Google Stats:

• Google processes estimated 200 million searches each day
• 86% of all UK internet searches are powered by Google
• Per person searches on Google rank at 40.7 a month
• Google's market value is £90.7 billion
• Google employs 19,156 people worldwide
• Google founders Segey Brin and Larry Page are worth £18.8 billion

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