Google Street View in Japan, Part Two
May 14th, 2009
Interesting. Google is going to reboot Street View in Japan:
The photos currently on the Web site were taken by cameras mounted on a stick attached to a car roof. Google Japan said it would lower the cameras after many residents complained they were high enough to look over fences around their homes, company product manager Keiichi Kawai said in a statement.
I’m of two minds on this. On the one hand, I think people go a wee bit too far in their complaints over privacy, especially in terms of what can be seen in public. I mean, face it, that’s why “public” is the opposite of “private.” On the other hand, anything that protects privacy, even if it goes further than seems reasonable, strikes me as a good thing–especially if it is a matter of precedent or policy.
And when it comes down to it, it really does make good sense to keep Street View at eye level, thus replicating that much more accurately what you actually see on the street when you are there in person.