NEWS / WINDOWS

Google to Reshoot Street Views of Japanese Cities

14 May, 2009, 12:03 pm IST | by AP | Windows

Google said Wednesday it will reshoot all photos in Japan for its Street View service after residents complained the 360-degree panoramic images provided a view over the fences around their homes.

The Internet giant's service has triggered privacy complaints around the world, including most recently in Greece, where it was banned Tuesday.

The photos currently on the Web site were taken by cameras mounted on a stick attached to a car roof. Google Japan said it would lower the cameras after many residents said they were high enough to look over fences around their homes, company product manager Keiichi Kawai said in a statement.

Others have previously complained that images on the service recorded vehicle license plates and laundry hanging in backyards. Rights groups have also demanded Google suspend the service.

Kawai said Google's decision to lower the cameras is designed to address concerns in Japan, where many neighborhoods are crowded and privacy is tightly guarded.

Google also has blurred vehicle license plates in the images.

Google, which has covered 12 major Japanese cities, including Tokyo and Osaka, will continue filming in the country.

"We admit that there were concerns about the service. People said we might have neglected the privacy issue," he wrote. "We took their opinions seriously and made careful considerations."

But Kawai stressed the service has many benefits, including saving many from getting lost.

Since it was launched in 2007, Street View has expanded to more than 100 cities worldwide. But it has drawn complaints from individuals and institutions that have been photographed, including the Pentagon, which barred Google last year from photographing U.S. military bases for Street View.

On Tuesday, a privacy watchdog in Greece banned Google from gathering images in the country for its Street View service until it provides more privacy guarantees than the current proposal to blur faces and vehicle license plates.

Tags: Google

RELATED STORIES

EU's Almunia offers Google chance to settle antitrust case, Google disagrees with opinion

EU's Almunia offers Google chance to settle antitrust case, Google disagrees with opinion

The European Union's antitrust chief on Monday offered Google a chance to settle an investigation into allegations of anti-competitive behaviour after ...

26/11 attacks planned using Google Earth, says U.S commander

Google to meet French regulator on privacy policy

Chrome 19 now available, features Tab syncing

Google Drive gets Research tool

Samsung confirms Galaxy Nexus will not officially launch in India

Google engineer behind Street View data breach identified

googles dark side - google conspiracy

20 Sep, 2007, 11:29 pm IST

googles dark side - google conspiracy

google office around the world

12 Mar, 2010, 10:37 am IST

google office around the world

HotForWords - GOOGLE SEXY OFFICIAL VIDEO

06 May, 2011, 09:31 am IST

HotForWords - GOOGLE SEXY OFFICIAL VIDEO

google Documentary - Discovery Channel

23 Jan, 2011, 04:05 pm IST

google Documentary - Discovery Channel

 

OPINIONS

Padmini Harchandrai

The latest "should they-shouldn't they" event with Facebook is the lift of the minimu...

MORE OPINIONS

Leaked Images, Availability, Pricing,
Specs, Pre-order

features

Top 5 free all-in-one messengers for Windows

Top 5 free all-in-one messengers for Windows

The number of instant messaging services have exploded, since the first...

By Rossi Fernandes

Project Darpan: Digitizing Indian local languages

Project Darpan: Digitizing Indian local languages

Compared to the relatively slow adoption rate of the traditional PC, that...

By Naina Khedekar

Top 10 tips for Internet Explorer 9

Top 10 tips for Internet Explorer 9

Microsoft’s browser Internet Explorer has been around a while and things

By Tech2

MORE FEATURES

Google Nexus tablet to be unveiled at Google I/O 2012

Derek Matuszewski

Sat May 26, 19:03:39

Portable Wi-Fi Drives for your smartphone

Nitish Kumar

Sat May 26, 18:41:21

Portable Wi-Fi Drives for your smartphone

Dr-Mosleh Ghaffari

Sat May 26, 18:30:11

MORE DISCUSSIONS