Google was forced to remove photographs of naked children from its Street View service last night as a row over internet privacy escalated into one about public safety.

 

The Independent on Sunday alerted the internet search giant after finding images of the toddlers, playing at a family summer picnic in a garden square in north London, captured permanently on the revolutionary mapping system. Britain's privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner Richard Thomas, is considering an investigation into Google if more images of naked children are found to have been picked up by its cameras and made available to internet users.

 

Google has had hundreds of requests for images to be removed since it launched Street View on Thursday, including pictures of members of the public leaving sex shops or vomiting in the street. But the pictures of young children suggest the service could be exploited for more sinister purposes.

 

Last night it also emerged that Tony and Cherie Blair are among hundreds of people who have demanded that close-up photographs of their homes be removed. The Blairs' home in Connaught Square, west London, was blacked out on Friday after nearly 24 hours on the web.

 

Pictures of Downing Street were also taken down, although it is not a private address and the location is photographed by millions of tourists every year.

The images of the children were taken last summer and show a typical scene of garden square life in a quiet side-street – a location that many families would deem semi-private and where they would have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

In one picture, the face of a three-year-old child, playing happily in the sunshine, is clearly identifiable. The IoS is not naming the address for privacy reasons, but the square is just yards from a Cabinet minister's home, although the children are not related to that minister.

 

The images of the garden square were removed by Google within an hour of the company being informed yesterday. The picture had been found by this newspaper within only 10 minutes, suggesting there could be many similar images on the website.

 

The Tory MP Edward Garnier said: "The right to privacy, and not to become the victim of some corporation's profit-making activities, is clearly something that needs to be protected. We all have an expectation that our privacy should not be invaded or exploited for commercial purposes."

A spokesman for the Information Commissioner's Office said: "We will consider the IoS story carefully. Images of children must be properly blurred. If there is an underlying problem, for example if what has been uncovered is systemic, then we will take up the matter with Google.

 

"It is Google's responsibility to ensure all images of adults and children are satisfactorily blurred. Individuals who feel that an image does identify them [and are unhappy with this] should contact Google direct to get the image removed.

"Individuals who have raised concerns with Google about their image being included – and who do not think they have received a satisfactory response – can complain to the ICO."

 

A spokeswoman for Google said last night: "We will remove these pictures as quickly as possible." She insisted that the pictures had been taken on a public road – although the street is not a thoroughfare. "This is still on the side of a public road. It [the camera] takes pictures at any time, and it [records] a fleeting moment."

Asked whether Google was concerned that there would be other pictures of children, for example outside schools, the spokeswoman said: "Most of the faces are blurred. If they haven't been, parents can hit a button and remove it [the image]. They show what is going on in the street at a particular moment; they are not live."

 

Google has defended its use of the mapping service, which covers more than 22,000 miles and 25 UK cities, saying that the degree of clarity of the images is no different to those shown in estate agents' literature.

 

But there are question marks over whether, in reality, an estate agent would be able to take photographs of naked young children playing outside, without being challenged.

In a fresh twist, the Metropolitan Police denied claims by Google that it had been consulted about Street View prior to its launch. A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: "We have not been involved in discussions with Google regarding their product development."

 

After earlier insisting that "99.99 per cent" of faces featured in Street View were blurred, Google admitted yesterday that this had been a "figure of speech" as it was clear that thousands of people can be identified. "The technique is not totally perfect," the spokeswoman said. "The idea is not to blur every single face, only those that can be clearly identified."

Among faces not obscured was a police officer standing guard outside the London home of Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, which was at the centre of a row over her expenses.

 

The Blairs' grand Georgian house, with two police officers stationed outside, can still be viewed from an angle, but a close-up image of the property has been removed. A spokesman for the Blairs could not be contacted for comment. Google refused to comment on the Blairs' individual case, but said images were being blacked out at the "user's request".

 

The company's discomfort was compounded by a former criminal, Michael Fraser, who wrote in The Sun yesterday that Street View was a "gift to criminals".

 

Germans in the country's northern state of Schleswig-Holstein are threatening to take legal action against Google because of fears that its photographs of the region's towns and streets are in breach of the country's strict privacy laws.

 

A campaign against the internet giant has been launched from the small provincial town of Molfsee, near Kiel, and is being eagerly watched by dozens of other towns and cities in the region which has a population of close to 3 million.

 

"We are not going to let this happen," said Reinhold Harwart, Molfsee's conservative mayor. "This is opening people's houses and homes to criminals. All this information is taken back to the United States and being processed. This can't be allowed," he told the IoS.

 

Similar concerns have been voiced by Marit Hansen, the state's deputy officer in charge of data protection, and by Peter Schaar, Germany's federal data protection chief, who said he has major misgivings about Google Street View. His office is currently investigating the issue.

 

The campaigners want Google to be obliged to obtain a street permit, similar to those held by vendors and market stall holders, before they take photographs. "We would then have the option of refusing them permission, which is what we would do," Mr Harwart said.

 

Google's spokesman for northern Europe claims, however, that Germany's streets are public property and that the concern does not need a permit to take pictures. "We are not a tool designed for criminals," a spokesman said.

 

Google Street View started photographing Germany in 2008 and the company has already taken pictures of many of the country's major towns and cities. Harwart said his campaign planned to sue Google Street View if the concern was found to be in breach of privacy laws.

 

Source: Independent on Sunday

 

Is it right that Google remove certain views from the public?

Street View should be scrapped altogether, it is an outrageous violation of privacy

Someone please explain to me exactly how a criminal could use Google street view to commit a crime that he would not have been able to commit without it. Utter paranoia and fear-mongering.

 

We've had this service for years and I've only ever heard a few minor complaints. It's a very powerful tool, very useful. If it's legal to walk down a street and snap a photo of someone's house, then Google is breaking no laws here.

Someone please explain to me exactly how a criminal could use Google street view to commit a crime that he would not have been able to commit without it. Utter paranoia and fear-mongering.

 

We've had this service for years and I've only ever heard a few minor complaints. It's a very powerful tool, very useful. If it's legal to walk down a street and snap a photo of someone's house, then Google is breaking no laws here.

 

Please explain why this service is necessary, yeah maybe for historic buildings, stately homes, tourist attractions etc but why private houses ? what business is it of anyone using Google where someone else lives and so on ?

Please explain why this service is necessary, yeah maybe for historic buildings, stately homes, tourist attractions etc but why private houses ? what business is it of anyone using Google where someone else lives and so on ?

 

Well it doesn't tell anyone where you live, it just shows a picture of the street view of your house and everyone else's house just like anyone could get by walking down the street. I have used it for locating specific buildings to make easier directions, I've used it to explore neighborhoods in order to judge if I want to rent a specific apartment or stay at a hotel in that area.

Street View should be scrapped altogether, it is an outrageous violation of privacy

 

Agreed... Personally, I find no problems with conventional mapping systems, these are perfectly adequate, and there's no room for abuse with conventional mapping systems either.... From what I read in this article, people can be identified from these images..... This is WORSE than CCTV, and I find the justifications for much of that highly questionable....

 

I'd be very curious to know if there is a Google mapping system for Paris, this would surely fall foul of France's very strict privacy laws.....

Please explain why this service is necessary, yeah maybe for historic buildings, stately homes, tourist attractions etc but why private houses ? what business is it of anyone using Google where someone else lives and so on ?

 

I don't think it's really that easy to tell who lives where from Google Street View, there'd only be a few cases where someone would be shown stood outside a house or whatever.

We don't need to scrap Google Street View, they just need to remove or blur out any images of people.

 

As already said, what information could be gained from Google that couldn't be obtained by a criminal anyway?

 

 

I don't think it's really that easy to tell who lives where from Google Street View, there'd only be a few cases where someone would be shown stood outside a house or whatever.

We don't need to scrap Google Street View, they just need to remove or blur out any images of people.

 

As already said, what information could be gained from Google that couldn't be obtained by a criminal anyway?

 

It is the principle more than anything else

 

We are already living in the most spied society in western civilisation with CCTV, speed cameras, police and security services allowed to intercept phone calls, emails and anything else under the blanket of "prevention of terrorism", we are spied upon in several other ways too so while I have nothing personally against Google I see it as a further invasion of our privacy when we already have precious little of it in the first place

Edited March 24, 200916 yr by B.A Baracus

It is the principle more than anything else

 

We are already living in the most spied society in western civilisation with CCTV, speed cameras, police and security services allowed to intercept phone calls, emails and anything else under the blanket of "prevention of terrorism", we are spied upon in several other ways too so while I have nothing personally against Google I see it as a further invasion of our privacy when we already have precious little of it in the first place

 

But what your street looks like isn't exactly a private matter is it? Anybody could go and have a look around if they wanted?

It should be done on an opt in basis, no one asked my permission whether they could photograph my house nor did they ask anyone else's permisson so that to me is a privacy issue they just snapped away and published my house on the net which to me is wrong

 

 

I'd be very curious to know if there is a Google mapping system for Paris, this would surely fall foul of France's very strict privacy laws.....

 

Yep, there is. I used it in January to find the hotel I was staying at. :)

 

 

Agreed... Personally, I find no problems with conventional mapping systems, these are perfectly adequate, and there's no room for abuse with conventional mapping systems either.... From what I read in this article, people can be identified from these images..... This is WORSE than CCTV, and I find the justifications for much of that highly questionable....

 

I'd be very curious to know if there is a Google mapping system for Paris, this would surely fall foul of France's very strict privacy laws.....

 

But Google street view and CCTV are completely different, CCTV intentionally surveys the actions of people and can only be viewed by so-called "authorities." Google street view merely makes public streets (which anyone can see anyway) easier to view via the net. The intention of Google has always been to make all public information available to all and easy to access. Now I agree that people need to be blurred, as far as I can tell Google is cooperating and blurring those who request it.

 

It's sort of amusing that the UK, the country with by far the most CCTVs in the world, is suddenly up in arms about Google street view. Where was the outrage when they installed 1 CCTV for every 10 Britons?

 

It should be done on an opt in basis, no one asked my permission whether they could photograph my house nor did they ask anyone else's permisson so that to me is a privacy issue they just snapped away and published my house on the net which to me is wrong

 

Precisely.....

 

If you want to do a 3D picture mapping system to find a hotel, cinema, pub, airport, railway station, etc, then yeah, fair enough, but DONT publish pics of peoples' private homes on the Net..... This is where the potential for abuse comes in.....

 

Burglars can potentially use this tool to assess whether or not a house is in a quiet area without having to actually "case" the area itself....

It's sort of amusing that the UK, the country with by far the most CCTVs in the world, is suddenly up in arms about Google street view. Where was the outrage when they installed 1 CCTV for every 10 Britons?

 

You clearly haven't seen my own posts very much objecting to the proliferation of CCTV cameras in this country in the past 20 years, and you'll also find that Speed Cams are a particularly contentious area, dont make the mistake of believing that everyone in UK is on board with this cr@p..... Both myself and Craig are very much anti-CCTV where it is totally unnecessary... I dont even believe that it prevents crime to anything like the extent the authorities claim.... It hasn't exactly stopped kids from being stabbed in busy London streets or stopped banks from being robbed....

 

 

right, well heres my take on it

 

 

Someone please explain to me exactly how a criminal could use Google street view to commit a crime that he would not have been able to commit without it. Utter paranoia and fear-mongering.

 

We've had this service for years and I've only ever heard a few minor complaints. It's a very powerful tool, very useful. If it's legal to walk down a street and snap a photo of someone's house, then Google is breaking no laws here.

 

EXACTLY!

 

Please explain why this service is necessary, yeah maybe for historic buildings, stately homes, tourist attractions etc but why private houses ? what business is it of anyone using Google where someone else lives and so on ?

 

for fun, why not? i can see nothing sinister in this as aireal pics are already available.

 

 

Well it doesn't tell anyone where you live, it just shows a picture of the street view of your house and everyone else's house just like anyone could get by walking down the street. I have used it for locating specific buildings to make easier directions, I've used it to explore neighborhoods in order to judge if I want to rent a specific apartment or stay at a hotel in that area.

 

or if you want to live in the area.... agreed.

 

 

It is the principle more than anything else

 

We are already living in the most spied society in western civilisation with CCTV, speed cameras, police and security services allowed to intercept phone calls, emails and anything else under the blanket of "prevention of terrorism", we are spied upon in several other ways too so while I have nothing personally against Google I see it as a further invasion of our privacy when we already have precious little of it in the first place

 

no it isnt, as has already been said, google have only made available what anyone could do, walk/drive down any street, theres no info that you cant see with your own eyes.

 

 

But what your street looks like isn't exactly a private matter is it? Anybody could go and have a look around if they wanted?

 

exactly!

 

i like it, so what? it shows the front of my house.... big deal! its on full view for anyone to look at if they walk/drive down my street. i dont think my security or privacy is being breeched at all.

 

I'd be very curious to know if there is a Google mapping system for Paris, this would surely fall foul of France's very strict privacy laws.....

 

 

:lol:

 

go and look, its up n running! :lol:

Street View should be scrapped altogether, it is an outrageous violation of privacy

 

I agree.

Ive managed to find my best mates dad talking to an old lady, another mate running out of an internet cafe and two people from the year above me waiting at a bus stop outside my road :lol:

I love living in a minor town ^_^

 

I can see my new flat on it in Dundee, but the pics old enough for it to still be a building site :D

 

It's in use in Australia as well. There's photos of my Uni, but my flat is set back from the road and down a hill.

 

It's quite useful imo, i've just snooped my hotel in Melbourne

I don't see the issue? It's not like it's constantly running or anything, just a non-moving highly detailed picture. Anyone could take one legally anyway and publish it on the net? Also, there's a set path you can follow on the Google Street View, so it's not like you can zoom in and move all around a person's house (unless the street completely circles your house? :/)

 

I don't possibly see how a criminal could use this at all. :/ LOL. People are overreacting imo. It's not like anyone can't just go up to your house and look at it anyway LOL.