Google Street View To Post First New Pictures From Germany in a Decade (bloomberg.com) 12
Google Street View's cameras have returned to Germany more than a decade after a privacy backlash in the country pushed it to stop updating images. From a report: Alphabet's update will start with new photos of the streets and landmarks of the country's 20 largest cities and expand from there, the company said in a blog post on Tuesday. Google voluntarily suspended Street View photography in Germany in 2011, after an outcry from privacy advocates and opposition from regulators.
"We've been back on the road with our vehicles in Germany since June and will be posting the latest images as they become available -- adding footage from other regions across the country," Sven Tresp, a program manager for Street View, wrote. Google is posting information about where its cameras are traveling, he said. The Street View rollout across Europe more than a decade ago triggered probes by data protection watchdogs across the European Union. The investigations included a probe by the Hamburg authority, where Google had its main German base. Some led to fines, including a $1.1 million penalty in Italy.
"We've been back on the road with our vehicles in Germany since June and will be posting the latest images as they become available -- adding footage from other regions across the country," Sven Tresp, a program manager for Street View, wrote. Google is posting information about where its cameras are traveling, he said. The Street View rollout across Europe more than a decade ago triggered probes by data protection watchdogs across the European Union. The investigations included a probe by the Hamburg authority, where Google had its main German base. Some led to fines, including a $1.1 million penalty in Italy.
What about the Germans asking to blur their house (Score:2)
It is unclear from the summary (TFA is paywalled) if they have addressed the concerns of the locals who were systematically opting out (asking google to blur their property). Updating the pictures is not going to change that people who have opted out are still out and their need to be blurred on the new pictures as well (except for houses that have new owners -- did they integrate with web service from the German government to find out?).
Re: (Score:2)
Google can blur photos after they've been taken, you know. That's how they blur faces and other details in Street View right now.
It captures everything, then Google analyzes the photos for faces and such and blurs them.
If someone in Germany wants their property blurred, Google can just blur it afterwards.
Re: (Score:3)
What I meant is: google decided to pause their programme in Germany 10 years ago after many people asked to blur their house so the Street View service was not so pretty (roads full of blurred houses), and cost them real money in acting upon millions of blurring requests. They can update the pictures but they'll have to blur the same houses making it just as useless as before, so I don't understand what is their motivation to spend money right now.
Re: (Score:2)
They can generate 3D models, then use some shitty AI to render "synthetic replica" and call it a feature.
Germay No Longer Interests Me As a Destination (Score:4, Interesting)
I love photography. When I found out I have to run around with model releases every time I take a picture in Germany it turned into a shit place. In 100 years or more from now, people there will be wondering why there isn't a rich visual history of their country when other places do have that. Sterile pictures of buildings with no human context just look like a cold un-human place. It reflects on the place. I used to want to visit it, but when people there because so stupid to believe public photographs should be restricted, it became stupid. Most ridiculous place in the world for photography. If I were Google I'd have take all the street view stuff down. Go old school.
Re: (Score:2)
Germany puts conditions on what you can take pictures of in public. For whatever reason, once you do that you are introducing censorship. If you cannot show the ugly with the good, then there is no point because you only show a distorted view of reality. Then all you are doing is lying.
So whats changed now (Score:2)
History repeats itself (Score:2)