Google Caught on Private Property

In a Slashdot posting over the weekend, it was noted that Google's new Street View coverage in Sonoma and Mendocino counties seems to trespass on private property.

Google took some heat last year from privacy advocates when it launched Street View in San Francisco, New York, Denver, Las Vegas and Miami. Some critics' concerns were assuaged when Google recently deployed a technology that blurs faces and license plates.

The latest 360-degree photos were taken all across Sonoma County, from the eastern county border to the Pacific Ocean and most all of the cities in between.Google went past a gate with a "no trespassing" sign outside Freestone and captured images on private property. Several residences can be seen , including a close-up of someone's living room window.

"I like my privacy, and this feels like an invasion of that," said Janet Tobin, who lives on the property. "My friends already know how to get here. I don't need the whole world coming to my door."

Google spokeswoman Elaine Filadelfo says that the company tries to avoid photographing on private property and takes images down that are not on public roads. However, once an image is online, it can become impossible for Google to stop their reproduction on other Web sites.

"This is not the first time this incidence has come up," said Kurt Opsahl, senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an Internet watchdog group.

So far it's been rare, he said. If Google has trespassed only twice, Opsahl says it's not a huge concern.

"But if this is only the tip of the iceberg, then with each additional incident it becomes more troubling," he aid.

See full article at PressDemocrat.com.