Danger lurks on Google Street

Technological advancements are amazing. Who would have predicted five years ago that we would be able to log on to a computer and see fairly detailed maps of any city in the world, writes The Marlborough Express.

Google Earth and several other software application and websites allow users to zoom in on any point on the globe and see aerial details of houses and cars in streets.

Some towns and cities even have drive-by views where you can stroll down a virtual street and see individual houses, shops and other details.

This technology has raised concerns in several countries and now it's New Zealand's turn to complain about the invasion of privacy and other issues this software poses. Some feel uncomfortable that because pedestrians and vehicles can be made out in some pictures in Google's Street View, as the software in known. There are also fears that the software can be used by criminals to plan burglaries.

Google says it takes the privacy concerns seriously and has been liaising with regulators and groups in New Zealand to address concerns. The company says it will be blurring faces, licence plates won't be identifiable and says there is an easy system for anyone to report imagery that they feel is inappropriate and want removed.

The Privacy Commissioner, Marie Shroff, accepts Street View may unsettle some people, but says Google has made an effort to inform her of its plans and think through the privacy implications. Ms Shroff says she is pleased that, as a result, Google has taken active steps to better protect individual privacy.

But just how much privacy protection can we expect from Google? This is the same company that has been ordered by a US judge to hand over details of every user who has ever watch a video clip on its YouTube site.

And it's not only Google that has been ordered to hand over user information to the authorities.

Police last year were given access to details of up to 10,000 TradeMe users during their investigation into the "terror raids" last year. This information is now believed to be in the hands of prison inmates.

All these issues raise the question of just how much privacy you have when you are online. The majority of internet users quite happily go about their business unaware of just how much information is being collected about them at every website they visit. Every page you visit identifies you by your IP address and gathers all manner of information about you.

Most websites use this information to target adverts at you but some have more sinister reasons for wanting this information.

There is no way to be 100 percent safe online, just as there is no way to be 100 percent safe when you are walking down the street. The best advice is to keep your wits about you and hope for the best!