Google Street View offers street-level images of towns and cities around the world. Its an amazing use of technology which many people love. However, many others think it’s evil, and that it should be banned for infringing on our right to privacy. Hogwash. Google Street View breaks no privacy laws whatsoever and that’s the end of the story.

Ever since Google Street View first launched in the United States in May, 2007, there has been an ongoing debate over whether it breaks privacy laws. This hasn’t been limited to the U.S. either, with campaigners in the UK, Japan, and other countries also battling against the service due to it supposedly impinging on people’s civil liberties.

There was the Minnesota town of North Oaks which wanted to be completely removed, as a whole, from the app. Then there was the Boring couple from Pittsburgh who sued Google for featuring their house despite signs stating it was a private road. They duly lost the case but their reward for bringing it is that everyone now knows about them, where they live, and what their house looks like.

When Street View was being prepared for launch in the UK, with the photos being taken six to nine months ahead of time, Privacy International claimed Google was breaking UK privacy laws and asked the Information Commissioner’s Office to investigate. It did, and found that the claims were false. Google was playing by the book.

Google Street View finally launched last month in the UK and again there were claims of privacy violation. The English village of Broughton took the law into its own hands and tried to prevent the driver of a Street View camera car from doing his job. There were also many requests for images to be removed, all of which Google duly dealt with.

To coincide with the UK launch of Google Street View, Privacy International once again called for an investigation. Now, according to The Guardian, the ICO has responded with a 2,500-word report once and for all settling the argument. It stated that Google Street View didn’t violate any privacy laws also dismissed the idea that the consent of everyone photographed should be sought before publishing.

If consent were required by the law, then the producers of, say, Match of the Day [a weekly soccer highlights television show], would have to gain the consent of all people attending televised football matches who might be caught on camera.

So there we have it, Google Street View is not breaking any privacy laws, and that’s official. Any right-thinking person already knew as much but hopefully this pronouncement from an official organization whose job it is to know such things will stop the incessant arguments coming from people who really should have better things to do with their time.

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Entry was posted on Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 1:36 am under Google, Internet, Opinion, Technology.

Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
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