Google stands up to EU on Street View
The European Union is trying to force Google to change the way its Street View service operates, particularly in regard to how long it retains the images it obtains. But Google is having none of it, sticking to its guns over the issue.
Google Street View has been a bone of contention for lawmakers and privacy advocates ever since it was introduced a few years ago. In the U.S. it was private residents that objected, while in Europe and beyond it was governments that decided to raise concerns.
Last month saw EU privacy advocates lobby Google to change Street View to better protect people’s privacy. The Article 29 Data Protection Working Party particularly wanted to see the length of time that images are stored fro reduced from 12 months to just six months.
According to Bloomberg, Google responded by stating:
We believe the retention of the unblurred images is legitimate and justified. We have publicly committed to a retention period of 12 months from the date on which images are published on Street View, and this is the period which we will continue to meet globally.
The point is that to reduce the time by that degree would mean Google would have to shoot new images to replace the ones being deleted. Which would mean covering the whole of Europe with its Street View cars every six months. Which is a big ask. And does six months really make that much of a difference to people’s privacy, anyway?
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