pinhead
25-03-2009, 07:13 PM
Strange-looking vans and cars are prowling the streets of Montreal and 10 major Canadian cities and taking pictures of homes, laneways, yards and people as part of the controversial "Street View" feature offered by Google Inc.
The feature has raised the ire of privacy watchdogs all over the world for its candid and sometimes controversial images.
The feature allows someone using Google Maps or Google Earth to click on a street or a building and see a picture of the area. The service's ability to allow onlookers to swivel 360 degrees gives Internet voyeurs the ability to take a virtual stroll of neighbourhoods.
However, the technology also has captured images of people coming out of strip clubs, suntanning on their back decks, sleeping next to trash bins or arguing with tow-truck drivers.
The service has been contentious since it was first introduced in the United States in 2007. Such U.S. privacy watchdogs as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and People for Internet Responsibility have raised questions about the intrusiveness of Street View.
The service's expansion to Canada now sees cars and vans, outfitted with a tall pole that has 30 special cameras attached to the top, driving through Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax, Saint John, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.
The company said it has already started collecting images and will release those for viewing within the coming weeks.
Media lawyer Mark Bantey, who also represents The Gazette in legal matters, predicts "Google will have a big problem in Quebec."
He explained Quebec has the most stringent privacy laws of both Canada and the United States.
"Google will be exposed to lawsuits in Quebec if they publish pictures of people without consent," Bantey said. "It's not like that in the rest of Canada or even in the U.S."
Bantey explained in a landmark 1998 case that went to the Supreme Court of Canada, a 17-year-old girl successfully sued a magazine for $2,000 in damages for taking a photograph of her while she was in a public space on Ste. Catherine St., and publishing it on the front page without her consent.
Bantey said people must show damages when they claim their privacy has been violated.
"But in this case, I think the girl merely said that her classmates laughed at her," Bantey said.
Bantey said Google could get around the law, by blurring the faces of people to render them unrecognizable.
Elizabeth Denham, of the office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, said Google has, indeed, agreed to blur the faces of anyone caught in a picture. The company also has agreed to blur the licence plates of vehicles.
She said doing this will help to protect people, especially people who may be in a sensitive location, such as women's shelter or an abortion clinic.
The company also has offered to remove images people find offensive.
The feature has raised the ire of privacy watchdogs all over the world for its candid and sometimes controversial images.
The feature allows someone using Google Maps or Google Earth to click on a street or a building and see a picture of the area. The service's ability to allow onlookers to swivel 360 degrees gives Internet voyeurs the ability to take a virtual stroll of neighbourhoods.
However, the technology also has captured images of people coming out of strip clubs, suntanning on their back decks, sleeping next to trash bins or arguing with tow-truck drivers.
The service has been contentious since it was first introduced in the United States in 2007. Such U.S. privacy watchdogs as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and People for Internet Responsibility have raised questions about the intrusiveness of Street View.
The service's expansion to Canada now sees cars and vans, outfitted with a tall pole that has 30 special cameras attached to the top, driving through Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax, Saint John, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.
The company said it has already started collecting images and will release those for viewing within the coming weeks.
Media lawyer Mark Bantey, who also represents The Gazette in legal matters, predicts "Google will have a big problem in Quebec."
He explained Quebec has the most stringent privacy laws of both Canada and the United States.
"Google will be exposed to lawsuits in Quebec if they publish pictures of people without consent," Bantey said. "It's not like that in the rest of Canada or even in the U.S."
Bantey explained in a landmark 1998 case that went to the Supreme Court of Canada, a 17-year-old girl successfully sued a magazine for $2,000 in damages for taking a photograph of her while she was in a public space on Ste. Catherine St., and publishing it on the front page without her consent.
Bantey said people must show damages when they claim their privacy has been violated.
"But in this case, I think the girl merely said that her classmates laughed at her," Bantey said.
Bantey said Google could get around the law, by blurring the faces of people to render them unrecognizable.
Elizabeth Denham, of the office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, said Google has, indeed, agreed to blur the faces of anyone caught in a picture. The company also has agreed to blur the licence plates of vehicles.
She said doing this will help to protect people, especially people who may be in a sensitive location, such as women's shelter or an abortion clinic.
The company also has offered to remove images people find offensive.