GOOGLE MOVED to assure people their privacy was being protected when the search engine launched its Irish Street View facility yesterday.
Street View allows internet or smart phone users to view streets, roads, houses and buildings around the State. The images were gathered by cameras on Google’s specially adapted vehicles which have travelled 82,000km (51,000 miles) around the country since March 2009.
Google geospatial technologist Ed Parsons said Street View would have “nearly national” coverage when it goes live on maps.google.ie today. It went live yesterday on maps.google.com.
Images could not be taken in some areas for various reasons, such as a lorry blocking the street, but Google was returning to these streets to complete that work, he said.
The images show everyday life around Ireland, from a man pushing a dust cart up O’Connell Street, Dublin, to a tractor parked on a country road.
Ireland is the 25th country to launch Street View and it has been used in other countries for a range of reasons, from tourists checking out an area before booking a hotel, to prospective housebuyers looking at an area’s amenities.
However, concerns have been expressed it could breach people’s privacy if the images contain shots of individuals or their families, cars or possessions. There were also fears criminals could use it to target houses for burglary. Germany, Switzerland and Greece have been critical of the project.
John O’Herlihy, head of Google in Ireland, said the company took the issues of data protection and privacy “very seriously” and Google had worked very closely with the Irish Data Protection Commissioner to ensure that it was not breaching regulations.
This was confirmed by the deputy data protection commissioner Gary Davis who said Google’s undertakings to blur faces and car number plates should eliminate most privacy concerns. Mr Parsons said Google automatically blurred people’s faces or car registrations if they appeared in an image. On occasions when that did not happen for some reason, he said people were encouraged to contact Google to correct the oversight. People could also request that their house or premises be removed from the image.
“That’s a mechanism that we’ve had in place now for a number of years. It’s very robust,” he said.
Launching the new service, Minister for Tourism Mary Hanafin said she understood people’s concerns about their privacy. “I know other countries have raised issues about privacy and it’s something Google always have to be very conscious of, by obviously ensuring that people can’t be identified, car numbers can’t be identified,” she said.
Ms Hanafin said Street View had “huge potential” for Irish tourism, and also for business and education.
The initiative is supported by Fáilte Ireland, the Arts Council, property website Daft.ie and Chambers Ireland, which represents 60 chambers of commerce around the State.
Fáilte Ireland’s John Concannon said getting involved with Street View was “a total no-brainer” as it would showcase every corner of Ireland to millions of tourists abroad. Fáilte Ireland plans to have it available on touch screens in all its tourist offices.
Mr Herlihy said it would be the best form of free advertising that the country could enjoy.
Street View can be viewed at maps.google.ie or maps.google.com.
