7:00am Friday 12th March 2010
By Oliver Evans
VIRTUALLY every street in south Buckinghamshire has been added to Google’s controversial Street View programme, which feature street-level photographs.
Thousands of images are now available to view online – including thousands of homes.
Number plates and faces are obscured – but browsers can zoom onto houses and into windows. The programme tells the user the house number being viewed.
This has concerned some who say the programme – which features pictures taken by a car – is a violation of privacy and could attract would-be burglars.
Villagers in Broughton in north Bucks infamously blocked a road so Google’s car could not pass through.
A handful of streets and the M40 were added in January (see link, bottom of story).
Google spokesman Laura Scott said: "Google provides the easily accessible ‘report a problem’ tool for flagging inappropriate or sensitive imagery for review and removal - that includes giving users the choice to remove themselves, their car or their house completely from Street View if they like.
"Where our blurring tools have missed the odd face or car number plate anybody can report these to us and we’ll apply extra blurring.
"Google UK has consulted extensively with many privacy and community groups in developing the feature and privacy safeguards.
"We've launched Street View in over 20 countries and we've never seen an increase in crime as a result.
"The images are not real time, they show a moment in time of a street and therefore pose no increased security risk."
What do you think? Leave your comments below. Click the link to visit Google Street View. Drag the orange figure onto the road to view.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/trade_directory/