Street View: Data protectionists sue Google
The Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner Hanspeter Thür is taking the internet company Google to court. The majority of Google has refused to implement his recommendation regarding Street View, writes Thür in a press release.
Thür had demanded that Google take various measures to better protect privacy in the Street View online service. On September 11, 2009, he issued a recommendation calling on Google to take better account of the protection of personal data and privacy. Google rejected a large part of the demands, writes Thür. Even the preliminary information provided by Google was incomplete. For example, the internet company had announced that it would mainly photograph city centers. However, Google subsequently put many cities online across the board. In outer districts, simply making faces unrecognizable was no longer sufficient. The data protection officer also criticizes the height of the camera on the Google cars. The views it provides over fences, hedges and walls mean that you can see more than an ordinary passer-by from the street.
"We will vigorously contest every lawsuit"
"We are very disappointed that the Federal Data Protection Commissioner has announced that he intends to go to court," Google wrote in a statement. "We believe this is unnecessary and that Street View is completely legal. We met with the Federal Data Protection Commissioner before and after the launch and explained our technology. Where requested, we have proposed measures to strengthen the technology to protect privacy and address any concerns." Today's decision is therefore regrettable and indicates that Hanspeter Thür does not want to engage with the extensive proposed solutions. "We will vigorously contest any legal action. Street View has proven to be very popular in Switzerland from the very beginning and only the Swiss population suffers from this decision."
"We will vigorously contest every lawsuit"
"We are very disappointed that the Federal Data Protection Commissioner has announced that he intends to go to court," Google wrote in a statement. "We believe this is unnecessary and that Street View is completely legal. We met with the Federal Data Protection Commissioner before and after the launch and explained our technology. Where requested, we have proposed measures to strengthen the technology to protect privacy and address any concerns." Today's decision is therefore regrettable and indicates that Hanspeter Thür does not want to engage with the extensive proposed solutions. "We will vigorously contest any legal action. Street View has proven to be very popular in Switzerland from the very beginning and only the Swiss population suffers from this decision."
