Has Google’s "Innovation" gone too far?

If your up to date in the technology scene you will know that a couple of years ago Google released yet another of there ‘innovative’ products Google street. Examples of other innovations that they’ve had is Google Docs and Google Earth. The list goes on really. Google Street, which is an addition to Google maps and I say it’s addition, as it allows someone to actually psychically see the street of a place they search, instead of the bird’s eye satellite view that products like Google Earth use.

For the first time I decided I would check out the new Google Street view to see what the hype is about, I just started searching a couple of places such as my home town which is Nottingham looking around, and I’ve got to say I am very surprised on how detailed and in-depth the pictures of streets and houses are, almost disturbed infact! Here’s an example of a search I did, I just went general and typed in Hockely, Nottingham and this the image:

I hope you can see what I mean by how indepth the images actually are, and the fact that you can clearly see almost everything that you could if you we’re actually pyschically walking down the same street. But whats really got me thinking and mostly the reason why im writing this article is the fact that people are also included in these images. Real living human beings have been caught up in the images when they we’re taken, and has Google asked permission to take these images with these people being featured in them? Mostly likely not, so hang on guys where the ethical limit here? Sure they blank out peoples faces with face recongition software, great. But for example if people know you there still bound to recongise you anyway! And what about a stalker? No seriously, what if someone has a stalker and they start using Google’s ‘innovation’ to break the law, find the address of the person they are stalking and then what? Yeah I can see the police interview going like this:

“So Mr X we have found you guilty of stalking Miss Y, do you have anything else to add to your statement?”

“Yes, thanks Google street!”

I can also see Google Street taking over the paparazzi’s job and just having a fleet of google cars driving around taking pictures of celebrities and the uploading them to the internet so everyone can view!

Now writing this I remember the infamous google car with a weird looking camera set up hooked onto the top of the car roof, which was driving around the street where I was when I got photographed, similar to this:

No this wasn’t the same one, this was taken in Paris, France. But Google has an entire fleet of these cars and they have been driving around various countries, towns and cities, to collect images of streets. But really what are they doing taking pictures of streets for people that need to find a certain place, or just to invade our privacy? I remember about a year ago now, I was working with my Uncle at a extension job (As he is a builder) at the time I was helping one of his mates do brick laying, I was just mixing the cement in the front garden of the job we we’re all working at just and generally labouring for the brick layer, but then we all noticed this black car drive up the street with some weird looking camera setup strapped to the top, we immedietly knew it had something to do with satellites and all that as it had Google’s logo on the side door of the car, (And around that period Google had seemed to be becoming obessed with satellites, space, places etc) but until now I hadn’t really thought much of it, but this morning it all made sense. That car was actually part of the google street project and was snapping all the street around the Nottingham areas.

Maybe this whole post is slightly biased because of the fact that im on google street, doesn’t actually make me feel great (And no I won’t be posting the image of myself being snapped by the evil google car) I feel that this whole Google street is just an invasion of privacy. Alright fine I admit it, if your at work or school and bored as hell, it might be fun for about 5 minutes to go onto Google Street and put in your own house address or your mates just to see what comes up, but what is the real purpose of google actually even doing something like this? Im still yet to find a purpose behind this. I’ve heard that it’s use is for houses that are for sale and people can view the house they might be interested in buying, yes thats why estate agents are around, and lets face it right now in the current economic climate not many people are going to be selling there house! Another is that it’s the newer generation map and while I agree using something like google street and being able to use real time landmarks such as shops and streets as your waypoints still the question remains isn’t this all a invasion of privacy. Did Google even get permission from the local councils in the areas they we’re taking pictures of, and what about children that have been photographed? Yes Google have blurred there faces out, But surely there is some ethical and even official law that has to question the taking of these pictures when it involves children. I really wish I’d stuck my middle finger up at the evil google car that was driving past, because I sure as hell don’t like this whole new ‘innovation’ that google has at all.

Another slightly worrying issues is the fact that these pictures also feature cars and what identity feature does a car have, yeah you guessed it a number plate. These are meant to be blanked out, but from the image where I’ve been snapped my uncles van’s registration hasn’t been blurred out at all, so the technology isn’t full proof, and yes I can request it to be modified, but in the end I have to ask a company which I didn’t even ask to take a picture in the first place. Which is defiantly wrong in my opinion, and I don’t know if Google will ever correct that issue on the image because Im certain they have to blur out the registrations and I know for a fact computer software blurs out all of the senstive information such as the face and car registrations, but then this leads to another point what if this software that google uses fails and people’s faces are not blurred out and car registrations are able to been seen? If this happens then it’s defiantly a privacy issue.

I know that Google employee’s are encouraged to do out of the box thinking and are infact allowed to take a few hours out of there normal work schedule to actually go away and do the out of the box thinking and come up with ideas which products like Google Earth and Google Docs have orginated from, but I think there out of the box thinking has gone well too far. If someone pitched the idea of “Hey lets expand our already privacy invading product Google Maps and add in a street view, so everyone and there dog can view house addresses, streets landmarks etc” im sorry but if this idea came from out of the box thinking I think Google need to actually limit how far someone can go out of the box.

Don’t get me wrong, im not some guy thats a hater of Google. I have used numerous google products especially there product Google Docs which is currently in BETA but I have used it in assignments for sixth form and it’s helped out alot, so Google you are doing things right! There’s no doubt about it that the technology behind this is amazing but Realistically I think this Google street is just invading peoples privacy and whatever it’s purpose, I don’t think everyone will use it for what it’s designed for, and I still don’t actually know it’s true purpose, so if any of you guys know please comment back because I’d be really interested in finding out, because whats to stop me from contacting google right now and getting myself removed from the street view. Sorry Google but as you bring out these ‘innovations’ I think this is probably the worst mistake you’ve made, not to mention the amount of money you’ve put into this project.. Wasted, in my opinion.