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It may well provide an interactive ground level mapping experience like no other, but it would appear that not everyone is enamoured with Google’s impressive Street View tool.
Google bows to trespassing threat and removes Street View images of private US community. Image: Google.
Indeed, following hot on the heels of Google’s recent decision to allay growing privacy concerns through the application of facial-blurring, an enclosed and resident-owned community in Minnesota has given Street View the boot on the grounds that it trespasses on private property.
Upon locating Street View pictures taken of residential homes in the small city of North Oaks, which is located just north of St. Paul, officials representing the community’s estimated 4,500 private residents contacted Google and demanded that the offending city imagery was removed immediately.
According to Mayor Thomas Watson, shunting Street View’s roving eye from North Oaks is absolutely the townsfolk’s right, not least because they own the city streets and Google’s mapping tool directly violates the law laid down by the community’s ‘no trespassing’ perimeter signs.
“It’s not the hoity-toity folks trying to figure out how to keep the world away,” explained Mayor Watson in a Canadian Press report. “[Google] really didn’t have any authorization to go on private property.”
North Oaks officials approached Google regarding the captured and posted Street View images back in January of this year, warning the Internet search giant that its conduct was in direct violation of city trespassing ordinance. Google acquiesced to the officials’ demands, but was keen to point out that no other North American city had lodged such a complaint or demanded such action.
According to Google spokeswoman Elaine Filadelfo, the driver of the specific Street View vehicle that collected ground-based images from North Oaks likely did not see the ‘no trespassing’ signs and was unable to discern the small community from any other. A possibility enforced by the fact that North Oaks removed its perimeter gates almost 25 years ago.
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