Blah Blah, Privacy Group, Google Street View, Blah Blah

Is this really even newsworthy anymore?  Yet another privacy group is complaining about Google Street View.

Privacy International has filed a formal complaint regarding Google’s Street View service to the U.K.’s Information Commissioner (ICO).

The ICO has issued the following statement on their website:

“It is Google’s responsibility to ensure all vehicle registration marks and faces 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.”

Google had, in fact, sought advice from the ICO prior to debuting their Street View product.  The ICO seemed convinced that Google had taken sufficient measures to protect users’ privacy.

Privacy International, on the other hand, says that Google Street View has inflicted “clear embarrassment and damage” to many people and wants the service shut down.  Privacy International feels that Google’s “face blurring” technology isn’t working as well as they thought it would.

It’s a long shot that Google Street View will be shut down but it’s always fun to see what will come of these complaints.

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