Keep a closer eye on the neighbours (+pics)

The Dominion Post

New Zealanders can look at their homes and streets on Google's controversial Street View software from today, but people's faces have been blurred to protect their identity.

The free software lets Internet users "walk" down city streets and view the scene from any angle on their computer screens.

The free online software has sparked controversy in other countries because people and vehicles can be made out in some photos, while others show people in offensive or potentially embarrassing situations.

Google New Zealand product manager Andrew Foster said Google had consulted the Privacy Commission and offered to blur people's faces - a concession made in other countries. Users could also ask for inappropriate images to be removed.

Google had previously said it would ensure licence plates were not identifiable but had decided against blurring them because most were not legible in Street View images, he said.

Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff has said she was pleased Google had taken steps to protect individual privacy.

Wellington privacy lawyer John Edwards said that, under New Zealand law, people did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy while in public, but Street View made it more difficult to keep their business to themselves.

"I don't know that there's any great objection. Google will still be liable if they do anything or show anything really offensive and people will still have a remedy."

People would first need to be aware of sensitive images before asking they be removed - by which time it would often be too late, he said.

"Once something is brought to your attention because it's noteworthy, it's probably been picked up by somebody else and distributed around the Internet already."

Mr Foster said Street View's coverage of New Zealand was extensive, including cities, towns, regions and remote areas. Hokitika and Greymouth would not feature initially as poor weather prevented Google's camera-equipped cars from taking photos there.

The cars, which had multiple cameras mounted on their roofs, took a year to shoot images of New Zealand streets from all angles.

Street View is already available in six countries, including Australia, the United States, France and Japan. New Zealand is the seventh country featured.

A US couple tried unsuccessfully to sue Google for posting pictures of their home on Street View, claiming they were taken on a road marked "private property". An Australian woman was horrified to see a photo of her parents outside their house one month after her father had died.

Street View can be accessed through Google Maps, as well as being available on iPhones and BlackBerry phones.

Wellington company Terralink is also photo-mapping New Zealand's streets, but plans to sell the images to government agencies, utilities and emergency services.

THE MAN ON THE STREET?

Google's Street View has caught out a number of people in embarrassing situations, including:

* A man entering an adult video store.

* A girl bending over the front seat of her van to reveal a black thong.

* Men leaving strip clubs.

* Men picking up prostitutes.

* Parents hitting their children.

* A man in San Francisco picking his nose.

* Men urinating in public.

* An Australian man drunk and comatose on his front lawn after a big night out.

* A man climbing into an apartment block.

 

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