The Worst Arguments Against “Google Street View”

This is a translation of a blog post by Stefan Niggemeier on BILDblog.de.
Unlike other parts of my web site, this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Germany license.

The media is full of opinion polls. But knowledge polls would often be much more interesting. For example, if people weren’t asked about their opinion on government reform plans but about what they actually know about these reform plans that they are to judge.

The “Bild” newspaper [Germany's top-selling tabloid] did this today—unintentionally, of course. They asked lots of people what they think about “Google Street View” and whether they will make sure that their houses are not being shown in the controversial offering[1]. (“Google Street View” combines the maps of “Google Maps” with images of entire streets that the company has photographed, and for the first time this year it will show views of 20 German cities.)

The responses of many people that are given a voice by “Bild” show one thing above anything else: how little the respondents know about the offering. Many seem to believe that it consists of live recordings and that Google virtually monitors the whole world around the clock. In addition, people faces and license plates are blurred in the photos.

But obviously you don’t have to know this in order to speak out against the offering in “Bild”:

Collien Fernandes (28), TV presenter: “I would constantly feel I’m being watched if I know that anyone who knows my address can look at my home on the Internet.”

Juliane Winterberg (19), social insurance employee from Gerstungen: “I frequently sunbathe on the terrace. Thanks to Google, voyeurs will immediately find my home.”

Jeanette Biedermann (30), singer: “I will have my house blurred. I do not believe that those responsible for ‘Street View’ would be happy if someone watched them while bathing nude in the garden.”

Anni Brandt (78), retiree from Waltrop: “It is convenient, I could for example look at the house of a friend in America. But when people see me on my balcony, I think that’s not good.”

Mirja (34) and Sky du Mont (63): “We want to have our house blurred in any case. ‘Street View’ facilitates crime. And we would not want anyone to see our children playing in the garden.”

Tina Ruland (42), actress: “This is an invasion of privacy. If I were to find the place where I live, I would register an objection immediately. It would be especially worrying if my child could be seen.”

Manuela Dunkel (36), employee from Halle: “They cannot just put my property on the net. If I lie down on my lawn, I don’t want to find myself on the Internet.”

Even among the supporters, there’s someone who is clueless:

Marcus Schenkenberg (42), top model: “Great thing! When I am on the road, I can make sure that my houses in New York, Stockholm, and L.A. are still standing. One thing must be taboo—filming into the windows!”

One could of course ask why “Bild” does not inform these people (and its readers) that these judgments are based on false assumptions. But this is probably the wrong question. Among avowing “Street View” opponents, there’s also this one:

Martin Wichmann (53), BILD editor: “I have deliberately sought a house that is not visible from all sides. Google shouldn’t be able to turn this on its head.”

How Google manages to see things from a public street that others can’t see; whether the “Bild” employee believes that Google uses special cameras that are able to film through walls; or whether they have their own, say, “reader reporters” [refers to Bild's own reader reporters]—this remains an open question.

Update August 15. Several BILDblog readers criticized the last paragraph. It is correct that the “Street View” images are taken from a height of 2.90 meters, and thus have a different view than pedestrians (but the same as bus passengers[2]). But it is hard to believe that this is what Bild editor Wichmann referred to when he said that his house was deliberately “not visible from all sides” and that Google turns this on its head with its images.

1. ↑ Residents can register an objection with Google to have their homes blurred.
2. ↑ The caption on the linked image reads: “Threatening car with mounted camera — Comfortable bus with panoramic windows”.