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Google Street View Creates Problems in Japan

By - Source: Tom's Guide US

Google’s Streetview department is not having an easy time mapping Japan.

The probems it’s encountering are of the privacy variety, which seems to be a huge concern about the service for more than a few folks. Google will be reshooting photographs of twelve cities in Japan following complaints that Google’s cameras were mounted so high on the Google Street Cars, that they were capturing shots that included over-the-fence views of people’s homes and other private properties.

Google’s answer to the problem? A fairly logical decision to lower the cameras by nearly half a meter (forty centimeters if you’re looking for specifics).

"We have lowered the height of the camera due to the unique characteristics of many Japanese roads; they tend to be narrow, without pavements and driveways, and houses are built close to the street," Google said in a statement.

Google Street View seems to make headlines no matter where the cars go. Back in April, UK residents in one small village formed a human chain and blocked the driver of a Google Street View, saying the service was "facilitating crime." The Google car had no choice but to turn around and leave.

This week, Greece banned Google from taking photographs citing privacy concerns. What are your feelings on Street View? Do you think a lot of the fuss people make is down to paranoia, or do you feel that Google genuinely doesn't make the effort to protect peoples' privacy when it comes to Google Street View? Leave your thoughts below!

There are 72 Comments.
Top Comments
  • 13
    The_Blood_Raven , May 15, 2009 12:48 AM
    Who gives all these people the god-given right to be so easily upset over people being able *gasp* see their houses on the internet!?
  • 11
    piper5177 , May 15, 2009 1:02 AM
    Law regarding photography allows pictures to be taken of private properties and people from public property. The only time you need a release is if the photo is being sold for profit. Google is not "selling" the images.
  • 11
    anonymous@guest , May 15, 2009 12:50 AM
    When has anyone required consent to take pictures of people and places in public, and as far as general maps, its all public information anyway. Plot lines and building details can be obtained from many public information sources.
Other Comments
  • -8
    doomtomb , May 15, 2009 12:36 AM
    I want to say some of these people are crazy but I really don't think they are. Who gave Google the god-given right to drive their car around and take pictures of everyone and everything without consent?
  • 13
    The_Blood_Raven , May 15, 2009 12:48 AM
    Who gives all these people the god-given right to be so easily upset over people being able *gasp* see their houses on the internet!?
  • 11
    anonymous@guest , May 15, 2009 12:50 AM
    When has anyone required consent to take pictures of people and places in public, and as far as general maps, its all public information anyway. Plot lines and building details can be obtained from many public information sources.
  • -9
    anonymous@guest , May 15, 2009 12:54 AM
    I don't know anyone who would approve of strangers taking pictures of their house and posting on the internet. This thing should be eliminated.
  • 3
    fyrenight , May 15, 2009 1:00 AM
    wow, paranoid much? they are not doing anythin that any person could see if they just got in their car and drove down your street. lowering the cameras to not show whats behind a fence is a good call on their part. but people barring them from their countries or cities? how about you just blindfold people so they cant see other people's properties either? its the same damn view, just available as a tool.
  • 11
    piper5177 , May 15, 2009 1:02 AM
    Law regarding photography allows pictures to be taken of private properties and people from public property. The only time you need a release is if the photo is being sold for profit. Google is not "selling" the images.
  • 4
    piper5177 , May 15, 2009 1:03 AM
    ^^^except in China^^^
  • 1
    chripuck , May 15, 2009 1:07 AM
    Good lord people... it's a frickin picture. It's nothing more than what a person would see if they were driving their car down the road. Should that be a crime too?
  • 7
    grieve , May 15, 2009 1:08 AM
    JangocatI don't know anyone who would approve of strangers taking pictures of their house and posting on the internet. This thing should be eliminated.


    Your approval is not required… If I want to drive by your house on a public road and take a picture, then I’m going to do just that.

    All you ANTI-Street View people should stop taking pictures on Vacation as you may get a picture of someone’s house in there. … Then what?

    I honestly don’t see what the big deal is; when they drive by my house I’m going smile and wave.

  • 0
    chripuck , May 15, 2009 1:11 AM
    These people are the same types of people as my parents. To this day they refuse to say their name on their voicemail, they just recite the number, out of privacy concerns. I've told them that all a person needs to do is go to whitepages.com and do a reverse number lookup and they'll have a lot more than their names.
  • -1
    outacontrolpimp , May 15, 2009 1:16 AM
    LOL cant you see in peoples back yards in google maps?!?!?
  • 2
    anonymous@guest , May 15, 2009 1:19 AM
    In Japan, the houses are so close to the road that you can even see what's going on in their rooms, kitchen, garden and so on. At some place, you can see inside both side of the houses if you are standing on a truck cargo area. The fence height and regulated distance from the road is setup differently then here. A stranger taking photo of your home is unavoidable but they can't do it the "mass production" way and so fast. Google street is good, but they need to make some adjustment to the equipments to avoid this.
  • 1
    solymnar , May 15, 2009 1:21 AM
    /agree with grieve
  • 0
    truerock , May 15, 2009 1:24 AM
    I've read stories about native Americans in the 18 hundreds who did not like to have their photographs taken. I guess people in England, Japan and Italy think like that.
  • 2
    piper5177 , May 15, 2009 1:29 AM
    Photography steals your spirit...just like whiskey.
  • 0
    Dave K , May 15, 2009 1:30 AM
    In this situation the Japanese objected to Google imaging peoples private spaces... not public ones. I tend to think that Google driving around taking pics from the road is no big deal... but there does need to be some thought regarding inadvertent imaging of non-public areas (and an easy way to correct this when it happens).
  • 1
    danimal_the_animal , May 15, 2009 1:33 AM
    hahahaha

    japanese cant ride a bike for ****
  • 0
    danimal_the_animal , May 15, 2009 1:34 AM
    in all the times i have fallen off a bike as a kid (maybe 3 times?)

    i have never even came close to doing the splits like this guy!!!!!!!!!!
  • 0
    Dave K , May 15, 2009 1:40 AM
    piper5177Law regarding photography allows pictures to be taken of private properties and people from public property. The only time you need a release is if the photo is being sold for profit. Google is not "selling" the images.


    Not entirely true even of people taking pictures of public spaces... head down to your local public school and start shooting pictures of the kids, see how long it takes to get arrested.

    There are limits to most things and the debate here is more about where to draw the limit. Most of us think blurry google photo's of our homes is no big deal... but what if they stated driving around with high res imagers that could see through inadvertently open windows into bathrooms and bedrooms? Would that still be ok?

    There SHOULD be a limit on the ability of a person to access the private information of someone else (including images of their private spaces)... I can't say I know exactly where that limit should BE, but I think dismissing it out of hand indicates a superficial understanding of the issues.
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