Google Car Pulled Over by the Cops - Now in Google Street View!

1. Jim R Feliciano
   April 4th, 2009 at 12:55 pm

   I am amazed google is allowed to be so intrusive. Everyone except Cheney allows google to take pictures of anything. Something is inherently wrong with this. We would not allow the police to take so many pictures and we would riot if the government said it was going to take so many pictures.

2. VonSkippy
   April 4th, 2009 at 2:49 pm

   Who cares (except for the tinfoil hat crowd).

   The information is already out there is dozens of different formats.

   Security thru obscurity is the biggest myth ever (didn't work for the ostrich with it's head in the dirt, won't work for you).

3. Anon
   April 4th, 2009 at 9:20 pm

   Everyone except Cheney allows google to take pictures of anything.

   You forgot Google executives, who won't allow Google to photograph their homes.

   Google is evil.

4. Kalel
   April 5th, 2009 at 2:27 am

   Trying to hide can get one noticed.

5. Christophe
   April 5th, 2009 at 12:59 pm

   BREAKING NEWS!
   http://jalopnik.com/5196819/google-street-view-car-attacked-by-angry-v illage-mob

6. just_arty
   April 5th, 2009 at 2:18 pm

   Odd? Did Google take down the pictures? Because all I'm getting is a black screen.

7. yoni miller
   April 5th, 2009 at 5:35 pm

   you're right, i also get a black screen

8. Tempscire
   April 5th, 2009 at 7:06 pm

   Jim R Feliciano -- Google photographs everything that would be visible to anyone just walking down the street, which is entirely legal. If you don't like it, either petition for new kinds of privacy laws or never go outside again.

9. Chris Yost
   April 5th, 2009 at 11:38 pm

   Feliciano, don't be a leftist dick. The remark about Vice-President Cheney was uncalled for.

   Google goes streetview and all this got picked up by coincidence. Big fat hairy stinking deal. It's pretty cool until you opened your pseudo-political yap.

10. Robert
    April 6th, 2009 at 12:04 am

    Tempscire,

    You say it's entirely legal, and it may be. But here in NYC, if someone is shooting professionally, and/or for money, they're required to be permitted by the city. You're generally also required to have model releases for anyone visible in any image published for professional or monetary gain (though that gets fuzzy), even moreso for those under 18. In other parts of the world, even personal photography is heavily monitored (in England and Italy it is illegal to shoot in public parks, because of child predator fears).
    So if Google's cars aren't licensed in the cities they're shooting, there could be at least civil difficulties.
    That said, I have no problem with them running around compiling images on public streets. If they catch me doing something I shouldn't, it's my own fault.

11. Mike B.
    April 6th, 2009 at 12:11 am

    @Robert: Google blurs out (at least) faces and license plates that it's recognition algorithms can detect (at least in the NYC streetviews I have seen).

12. JKFan
    April 6th, 2009 at 12:16 am

    Tempscire...you do realize the world has differnet laws depending on your country, right? Thus making your comment completely false. Also, why do I get the feeling you are the first to complain loudly about CCTV cameras and red light cameras?

13. z06
    April 6th, 2009 at 12:42 am

    nice one about the CCTV, especially with the UK

14. Stuart Gibson
    April 6th, 2009 at 1:16 am

    @robert it is completely legal to shoot photographs in public parks in England (I think you mean UK). The fact that you think it isn't is just a sign that the hysterical "think of the children" brigade are having an effect.

15. Hank Fox
    April 6th, 2009 at 1:30 am

    I love Google street view. It makes it easy to navigate to new places, because you know what the store or whatever will look like. Half the time, there are no visible street address numbers when you're looking for a place, but with Google, you can see the storefront, so you can recognize it when you get there.

    As every picture they take is on a public street, and as they're only taken once in a great while, I'm not the least bit worried about it. It's not like it's constant surveillance (which is what I REALLY worry about).

    Yes, some people will misuse it. But even more people will find it useful. Should the people who find it useful be denied it because of the few who will misuse it, or the ones who are worried it will be misused?

    Barring some overwhelming argument against it, I'm content to let it continue.

16. hahahah
    April 6th, 2009 at 2:24 am

    Chris Yost

    You are a moron to defend Dick Cheney.

    hahahahahaha.

    Are you a screwdriver?

    You are definitely a tool!

17. louie smith
    April 6th, 2009 at 2:39 am

    Hello all, I'm a journalist working for a national press agency in the UK interested in covering this story. I was hoping Chris might read this comment and get in touch with me on 0117 9066500. Sorry for the intrusion and thanks in advance, keep up the good blog work!

18. hilarious
    April 6th, 2009 at 3:10 am

    Why is everyone so bothered about Google taking photos? Anybody can walk down your street and take a photo of your house. Anything that Google photographs can be seen by the public by just walking down your street.

    The claim that burglars use it to aid their efforts is rubbish, the burglar can simply have a stroll down the street and see everything that is visible from Google Street View.

    Aside from that, Google Maps shows high-res satalite photos of your house from a top down view, why aren't you protesting this aswell? A burglar can use this tool just as much as Street View. Infact Google Maps top down view is probably more helpful to burglars than Street View.

19. Artful Dodger
    April 6th, 2009 at 3:59 am

    Hahaha! I live in bradford, in the background is the alhambra theatre! T5 pulled them over hehehehe!

20. deej
    April 6th, 2009 at 4:26 am

    er actually that picture is outside the police station - hence the police car...

21. Artful Dodger
    April 6th, 2009 at 4:33 am

    No... That's the old police station. I should know... I live in bradford

22. Dan Glegg
    April 6th, 2009 at 4:52 am

    To the first commenter, who said "I am amazed google is allowed to be so intrusive. Everyone except Cheney allows google to take pictures of anything. Something is inherently wrong with this. We would not allow the police to take so many pictures and we would riot if the government said it was going to take so many pictures."

    You do realise that the UK has the highest CCTV coverage per square mile on the planet? And that everything has at some time been photographed and that most of those photographs are already available online? The only reason google is having to actually drive around taking the pictures is that copyright laws prohibit them from using images that were already taken by existing photographers.

    What google is actually doing is what they do in every other line of business - bringing order to unsorted data so that it can be navigated and browsed by ordinary people.

23. John Davis
    April 6th, 2009 at 6:57 am

    LOL, Careful now. Google is going to rule the world one day. Perhaps the Universe!

    RT
    http://www.anon-tools.cz.tc

24. David Bartle
    April 6th, 2009 at 10:35 am

    I actually have found street view to be extremely useful. In addition to previous comments about "now I know what the store looks like" so I don't get lost as easily, I have also found Google street view really useful for scoping out areas to buy a new house without having to make the 6 hour drive over and over again to get familiar with my new neighborhood.

25. Jes Fine
    April 6th, 2009 at 1:10 pm

    A similar thing happened in San Francisco last year:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/damianspain/2584019149/

    And the cop in pursuit on streetview:
    http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=presidio,+ca,+ca&sll= 34.795206,-118.85249&sspn=0,359.990387&ie=UTF8&ll=37.799535,-122.45957 9&spn=0.00412,0.009613&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.799607,-122.45953&pano id=jNBw15060GsqcNU0_hojPg&cbp=12,217.9804555843358,,0,5

26. Lunacy
    April 6th, 2009 at 3:53 pm

    There is NO expectation of privacy when you are in a public place. Just as you cannot prevent someone from looking at you, your home or your car, you cannot prevent them from taking a photo.

    That is how the police can take photos of you as you walk down the street or the automatic teller machine can take your photo when you make a withdrawal.

    Anyone can walk down your street and take photos of your home. Anything that can be seen from pubic property is fair game.

27. Lunacy
    April 6th, 2009 at 3:59 pm

    hilarious wrote:

    ...Google Maps shows high-res satalite photos of your house from a top down view, why aren’t you protesting this aswell? A burglar can use this tool just as much as Street View. Infact Google Maps top down view is probably more helpful to burglars than Street View.

    Virtual Earth provides not only overhead views, but "Bird Eye" views where you can rotate the image 360° to see all sides of the property in question. And the photos are usually taken in the winter when there are no leaves on the trees so you get an excellent look.

28. YOU IDIOTS
    April 6th, 2009 at 9:05 pm

    All these people complaining about their house being photographed are pretty dumb. If you knew what you were talking about, you woulnt be talking at all.

    All you have to do is tell google that you dont want your house on google maps and it will be taken off in a short amount of time.

    Geeze ppl.... If you were so concerned, you might actually know this. Most of you complainers are just dumb twats that dont even own a house, you just figure your going to complain for the others. Well ... YOUR NOT HELPING... GTFO!

29. Lis
    April 7th, 2009 at 6:31 am

    It looks like Google may have pulled some of the photos. Only the 2nd of 3 links works.
    Anybody make a backup screenshot?

30. Mohit
    April 9th, 2009 at 6:52 am

    Google Car is shaking the city.

31. tsuchan
    May 9th, 2009 at 4:58 am

    Jim said: "I am amazed google is allowed to be so intrusive [...] We would not allow the police to take so many pictures and we would riot if the government said it was going to take so many pictures."

    But Jim, the police are recording and filing live CCTV images of you in the street all the time. They have cameras in patrol cars recording everything. They have special camera units to record events and demonstrations to collect evidence for possible prosecutions. They often even have cameras bolted to their helmets. You say "we'd" not allow them to, but what have you ever done to stop it? What could you do?

    By contrast, Google's pictures are single shots, weeks or months old, taken from a public place where anyone could view a scene. The depth of police intrusion is already sooo much more, there's barely a comparison.

32. mercedes
    July 25th, 2009 at 9:38 am

    well even if google wasn't allowed to take the photos that alone would stop nothing. i mean you can't enforce making everyone not be able to take photos and often when you make a ridiculous law people will break it just out of spite

33. StreetView Driver
    August 27th, 2009 at 6:12 pm

    Hey just so you all know StreetView is not done for any financial gain. These companys spend thousands & thousands of dollars doing these projects for people to view places they may never get out and visit. There are also many other valid reasons why street view is great which far out number the negatives. Pre-Planning trips Knowing what your going to see when you get there. I love my job as a street view driver and wouldnt change it for the world. For all the people who have something to hide or complain about streetview go Hide and your secrets will stay safe.

34. Splint Chesthair
    November 3rd, 2009 at 8:31 am

    It'd be funnier if the Google driver called the cop a Nazi on Godwin Street.

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