Which Is The Bigger Privacy Invasion: Google Street View Images Or Major Newspaper Reprinting Those Images?

from the just-wondering... dept

Last week there was quite an uproar in the UK over how Google’s Street View offering was somehow a violation of privacy, despite the images being taken out in public. Also, Google was quite quick in removing any questionable images as soon as they were brought to Google’s attention. Yet, in true Streisand Effect fashion, the uproar and the removals has only led to much more focus on those very images. Reader Steve Cook points out that, in fanning the flames of the so-called “privacy violation,” The Daily Mail has reprinted a bunch of the “questionable” images which Google had already deleted. So, in creating a privacy uproar about it, now those images are more popular than they would have been if people had just left it alone.

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Companies: google

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Comments on “Which Is The Bigger Privacy Invasion: Google Street View Images Or Major Newspaper Reprinting Those Images?”

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18 Comments
Steve R. (profile) says:

A false Issue

It consistently amazes me that a picture can be considered a gross violation of privacy that evokes extreme outrage that demands significant media coverage. This isn’t an invasion of privacy.

The real invasion of privacy is hyper-marketing assault on the consumer by telemarketers, spam, and the selling/trading/sharing of your personal data by corporations. We need to get our priorities straightened out.

Weird Harold's former #5 fan says:

If you don’t want someone to take a picture of you urinating in public – don’t urinate in public.

If you don’t want someone to take a picture of you leaving a sex shop – don’t visit sex shops (or don’t leave).

If you don’t want to drive over a cliff – trust your eyes over a GPS unit.

Oh, that’s right – personal responsibility is taboo these days. My bad.

Dan says:

What will it take?

I guess it will take A street view camera capturing the muzzle flash of it’s last picture before they understand that people do not like trespassers or invasion of their privacy. Corporate paparazzi are no more palatable then the Hollywood variety. I don’t advocate or condone firing on street view but it will happen sooner or later and I would guess Texas would be first, given their laws and propensity for these things. Maybe it will be crowd sourcing of Google’s privacy, both Corporate and personal, to do the trick. Would they take umbrage?

Weird Harold's former #5 fan says:

Re: What will it take?

I guess it will take A street view camera capturing the muzzle flash of it’s last picture before they understand that people do not like trespassers or invasion of their privacy.

1. It’s a van driving down the street. How exactly are they trespassing?

2. The people are in public. How is this invading their privacy?

It really sounds like you’ve confused this with Google Bedroom View, where Google photographers sneak into your bedroom in the middle of the night to take pictures.

Dave says:

If you don't

If you don’t want to get shot, stay out of Detroit

If you don’t want your kids to get Cancer, don’t buy toys made in China

If you don’t want to get food poisoning from produce, grow your own vegetables

If you don’t want your ISP to read your email, don’t send email

If you don’t want to cut yourself, don’t ever use a knife. Ever

If you don’t want to fall, don’t climb trees

If you don’t want to get fired, don’t get a job

If you don’t want to get fat, don’t eat

If you don’t want to sneeze, don’t breathe

If you don’t want Chuck Norris to roundhouse kick you in the face, YOU WILL STILL DIE LIKE THE REST!

Jack Sombra says:

Not only am I a huge vocal fan of privacy but also one who knows the hundreds of ways our information is gathered every day and also how some of it used or misused depending on how you view it and do everything I can to minimise the collection of my data

That all said, this entire Google street view episode has been a total farce, not because of Google but because of the politicians & media stirring up controversy over some cars going around the place taking 360 degree photos of the public streets and catching random people in the photos who just happen to be around (and blanking out their faces where their software can detect them), yep huge invasion of privacy there……not

Shame on the Joe Public fools getting worked up about this with the absolute tons of other, far far greater invasions of privacy going on every day, many of the controlled by the government

Anonymous Coward says:

Re: Police?

“As I understand it, somehow we are no longer allowed to point our cameras at the Police as it might be a ‘terrorist act’ or some similar nonsense.”

Maybe in the UK, but not here.
We can still take pix, vids, of them beating the crap outta someone cuffed face in the dirt. They do not like it tho

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