AfterDawn: News

Switzerland sues Google over privacy

Switzerland's federal data protection commissioner Hans Thur has announced plans to sue search engine giant Google over lack of privacy safeguards in the Street View mapping system.

The system allows for users to see full panoramic streetscapes of most cities in US and Europe, including cars, buildings and even people. Google fully blurs faces and license plates, but Thur says it is not enough.



"Faces and vehicle number plates are not made sufficiently anonymous from the point of view of data protection, especially in cases where the persons concerned are shown in sensitive locations, such as outside hospitals, prisons or schools,"says Thur, via UPI.

"We are disappointed that Herr Thur has changed his position on Street View after launch, and that he has not considered our proposals for further improvements to the product," responded Google. "We will vigorously defend Street View in court and we're committed to continue bringing the benefits of this product to Swiss users."

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Nov 2009 21:22

• Previous article

• Palm Pixi officially launched

• Next article

• Blockbuster shows another quarterly loss

• 11 comments

• KillerBug

  Yay switzerland!!!

  15.11.2009 23:05 #1

• LissenUp

  Switzerland needs to learn German ................
  
  Kwicherbichin!!!!!!!
  
  Faces and lic. plates are blurred so SHUT IT.

  16.11.2009 11:02 #2

• manrod

  Let me get this off my chest before I go into this article...
  Quote:
  ...Switzerland sues Google
  LOLOLOLOLOLOL
  
  Apologies for that outburst. Don't want to sound harsh towards Switzerland, a beautiful country as it may be they sure do have some f*cked up laws and regulations over there but I didn't think it would come to this lol.

  16.11.2009 17:16 #3

• KillerBug

  I realy don't even care if it is a valid suit at this point...I just want google to bleed.
  

  [DFI M2RS] [Athlon 9950] [ATI 3870HD] [Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600] [6GB Corsair DDR2] [4x Seagate ST31500341AS + 3ware 9690SA = 4.5TB RAID5] [2x Seagate 750GB + 2x Seagate 500GB + Adaptec 1430SA = 750GB RAID1 + 500GB RAID1] [Intel Gigabit NIC (PCI)] [LG 20X Lightscribe DVDR] [Coolmax 1200w Power Supply] [Logitech G15(first edition)] [Logitech G5(Second Edition)] [320GB Hitachi Boot] [320GB Hitachi Temp/Swap] [Modified and overgrown 4U Rackmount case] [22" & 24" screens mounted overhead] [Perfect Chair 085] [Logitech 5.1 Audio] [Windows 7 RC1]

  17.11.2009 05:06 #4

• xant14

  Yes a beautiful country, but stuck up mardy arses. They cannot see beyond their stack of money at what GREAT technology Street View is.
  Get a grip.
  btw, what does Kwicherbichin mean?

  19.11.2009 06:17 #5

• xboxdvl2

  i hope switzerland lose.As for street view showing people outside hospitals and jails i didnt think it was illegal to film people outside hospitals and prisons??????if it distorts there faces and distorts cars number plates what difference is it whethers you can see them or not.
  

  P3 750mhz
  lite on 16X dvd burner
  256DDR
  
  
  sig compiled by Phantom69

  19.11.2009 07:32 #6

• SuperXL

  street view is cool when you want to make sure you're going the right way to your destination, but personally i dont like the fact that my house is on the frikkin internet. my entire community is there. there's probably a picture of me there somewhere too. blurred faces won't mean anything when you know people's mannerisms well enough to pinpoint who they are despite their face not being shown. you may not see my plate numbers, but you know i have a BMW. NOW you have step by step directions to my house to come steal it... it could breed insanity such as stalkers, home-invasion robbers and serial killers.
  
  news: "what made you pick this neighborhood to start a crime spree?"
  
  criminal: "well after seeing the professionally made homes and the various BMWs and SUVs in the driveways, i surmised that these should be well-to-do individuals who would be able to contribute greatly to my campaign of misdeeds."
  
  uneducated criminal: "i seen them houses 'n cars on da inna-net 'n said i'mma git me summa dat"
  
  
  @xant14:
  Kwicherbichin => quit your bitching

  22.11.2009 03:33 #7

• avoidz

  Originally posted by SuperXL: street view is cool when you want to make sure you're going the right way to your destination, but personally i dont like the fact that my house is on the frikkin internet. my entire community is there. there's probably a picture of me there somewhere too. blurred faces won't mean anything when you know people's mannerisms well enough to pinpoint who they are despite their face not being shown. you may not see my plate numbers, but you know i have a BMW. NOW you have step by step directions to my house to come steal it... it could breed insanity such as stalkers, home-invasion robbers and serial killers.
  
  news: "what made you pick this neighborhood to start a crime spree?"
  
  criminal: "well after seeing the professionally made homes and the various BMWs and SUVs in the driveways, i surmised that these should be well-to-do individuals who would be able to contribute greatly to my campaign of misdeeds."
  
  uneducated criminal: "i seen them houses 'n cars on da inna-net 'n said i'mma git me summa dat"
  
  Quit your bitching. Who cares about your BMW.

  22.11.2009 08:27 #8

• xboxdvl2

  Quote:street view is cool when you want to make sure you're going the right way to your destination, but personally i dont like the fact that my house is on the frikkin internet. my entire community is there. there's probably a picture of me there somewhere too. blurred faces won't mean anything when you know people's mannerisms well enough to pinpoint who they are despite their face not being shown. you may not see my plate numbers, but you know i have a BMW. NOW you have step by step directions to my house to come steal it... it could breed insanity such as stalkers, home-invasion robbers and serial killers.
  
  technically if i knew where you lived i took drive past your house and take a photo and post it on any website i wanted.if you have a BMW i take it your insured and have an alarm and immobilizer.anyone that drives a BMW should have an alarm and immobilizer & insurance if they don't they must be an idiot or something.i doubt uneducated criminals would know how to use the internet or even know about street view.as for directions to someones house for stalkers im sure whitepages.com website lists peoples home addresses aswell as there phone numbers for stalkers im pretty sure they have an application called google maps to help them find the house aswell.
  

  P3 750mhz
  lite on 16X dvd burner
  256DDR
  
  
  sig compiled by Phantom69

  22.11.2009 08:37 #9

• SuperXL

  @ avoidz
  the point of my almost rant is not to talk about a bmw, it's to say that there's too much technology and it's even more invasive. so what if they can blur my license plate, brand new random internet stalker people will still know where i am and what i'm driving. it's not like the regular stalkers won't know, but it's more of the fact that anyone in the world can see it. some crazy person from butte, montana could decide to travel, and just randomly pick my neighborhood, street, house to vandalize. would they have ever been able to get specific details without street-view? probably not.
  
  @xboxdvl2
  it's not about the car, insurance or anything. it's about what you just said: the technology is available to help them find you. way too much of people's personal info is on the internet. and criminals can still be uneducated as long as they know someone who knows how to use the technology. they could also be trying to educate themselves and stumble upon all this information. plus i also wanted to use the phrase "inna-net".

  22.11.2009 10:10 #10

• scum101

  and just how much stolen nazi gold is still propping up the swiss banks I wonder?
  

  Yes, we give you 100% free, no strings attached email! Just send us your address and we will send you as much free email as you could ever wish for

  22.11.2009 10:12 #11