For those of you who have not had the pleasure of playing with the finer details of Google Maps, welcome to the continuing saga of Google versus governments. The most recent resistance to Google’s controversial street-level matching view? Hold your breath. Hint: it’s the government of a country whose data protection laws are among the most tight in the world. Germany. Surprised?
Naturally, Google has no qualms fighting government policies; as the world’s most successful search provider, the company frequently runs into issues, especially regarding privacy, in governments all over the world. And, when you have the kind of coffers Google has invested in attorneys… you can pretty much do whatever you want.
Increasingly, Google is expanding its influence on people around the globe, and some wonder just how “personal” Google should get. Many Germans certainly object; the Wall Street Journal reported that 244,000 German citizens formally objected to having their homes photographed and viewable in Google’s mapping service. However, when you consider this number as only 3% of those in cities Google has slated to add to its “Street View” mapping, it’s tough to see how anyone can force the company to stop.
What does opting-out of Google’s service really accomplish? Amusingly enough, removing yourself from “Street View” simply blocks the image of your property. For those perusing the virtual map of your neighborhood, this is a minor detail; the street is still visible, as are all the properties surrounding the hidden location. Add the fact that Google’s service uses low resolution photography to keep internet loading times short and details low for security purposes and you have yourself a wasted request for Google to blur your property in its “Street View.”
Google is not the only company tightening the bond between the virtual world and reality; services such as AT&T’s “Family Locator” allow individuals to locate other people in the same family phone plan. Many argue this is an invasion of privacy, even when the service requires individuals to opt-in and agree to terms and conditions set by the company.
Granted, the technology is different, but the underlying issue is the same: privacy versus technology. Google’s conviction to slowly but surely tie the world closer than ever before is bound to hit hiccups along the way. A fine line must be navigated in order for technology companies to convince consumers that potentially intrusive technologies will make their lives better, and Google certainly faces the issue head-on.
Will a German minority be enough to force a technology conglomerate like Google to abandon its increasingly popular “Street View” service? Probably not. Even so, perhaps the resistance will prompt greater care in dealing with individual liberties.
The German government has already vowed to consider revisions to its technological privacy code in response to the new service. Supposedly, governments serve primarily to protect individual liberties, something increasingly important in an age of universal knowledge. Considering Google’s admittance earlier in the year of “accidentally” collecting personal user data in its earlier forays into “Street View” composition, it’s hard to blame anyone for being skeptical about the company’s intentions.
Privacy is certainly nothing to laugh about, but consider this: if governments, aka our “Big Brothers,” can read newspapers over our shoulders via satellites in space, should worrying over a low quality picture of your property online really be our first priority? Google's actions inadvertently bring attention to a larger issue: how can governments protect our privacy if they have the greatest ability to invade it?
Just a thought...
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