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Swiss To Sue Google Over 'Street View'

Posted on: Friday, 13 November 2009, 14:04 CST

Privacy concerns over Google’s "Street View" have prompted Switzerland's data protection commissioner to announce on Friday that he was taking Google to court over the matter, AFP reported.

Hanspeter Thuer, Switzerland’s Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner, said he was taking the case to the Federal Administrative Tribunal after the U.S. Internet giant had refused to apply the majority of measures he had recommended.

Google Street View lets users see a ground level panoramic view of some locations on Google Maps, based on still photographs taken by specially equipped vehicles.

After the service was introduced in Switzerland earlier this year, it was reported that many images of faces and vehicle number plates were still easily identifiable and insufficiently blurred, leading the Swiss data protection commissioner to file several complaints.

Thuer said he was especially concerned over several cases where people were easily identified around sensitive locations, such as outside hospitals, prisons or schools.

The height of the car-top cameras Google uses to film locations was also cited as a concern, as they sometimes can provide a view over fences, hedges and walls with the result that people see more on Street View than can been seen by a normal passer-by in the street.

He argued that it no longer guaranteed privacy in enclosed areas such as gardens or yards.

Thuer had issued recommendations in September after initially asking Google to withdraw the service while changes were made.

The statement said: "In its written response on October 14, 2009, Google for the most part declined to comply with the requests. For these reasons, the FDPIC (commissioner) has decided to take the matter further and to take legal action before the Federal Administrative Court."

However, Google has assured the efficiency of its blurring technology and insisted that it was "absolutely convinced that Swiss View is legal in Switzerland."

It could take months in Switzerland's legal system before the dispute is resolved, but the complaints will almost surely have an immediate impact on the availability of the Street View service in the country.

Thuer has asked the tribunal to require Google to remove all pictures taken in Switzerland and to cease taking any more pictures in the country until a ruling is made.

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On the Net:

• Google Maps with Street View

Source: RedOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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