GERMANY: Government to closely monitor Google's promise to respect privacy requests by opting out of its "Street View" mapping system

Record ID: 1530846

  • Title: GERMANY: Government to closely monitor Google's promise to respect privacy requests by opting out of its "Street View" mapping system
  • Date: 12th August 2010
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN GOVERNMENT'S DATA PROTECTION COMMISSIONER, PETER SCHAAR, SAYING: "I am happy that Google finally makes it possible for people to decide against (having their homes on Street View). At the same time, for us data protection commissioners the announcement to set off the tool in just a few days came as somewhat of a surprise. So we don't know yet exactly what will happen to the data and whether the suggested procedure really is acceptable." COLOGNE, GERMANY (AUGUST 11, 2010) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF CITY OF COLOGNE'S CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTRE PEOPLE STANDING IN LINE INSIDE NOTE ON WALL READING "DEAR CITIZENS OF COLOGNE, HERE ARE THE SIGNATURE LISTS AGAINST GOOGLE STREET VIEW" / LISTS ON DISPLAY LIST (SOUNDBITE) (German) COLOGNE RESIDENT WHO OPPOSES STREET VIEW, GOTTFRIED BREIDENBACH, SAYING: "Some time ago we sent a fax to lodge a protest. Google then sent us a form from Hamburg with a deliberate lie. They claimed that so far, no buildings are on the Internet in Germany. That is wrong." (SOUNDBITE) (German) COLOGNE RESIDENT WHO OPPOSES STREET VIEW, VERA KAYSER, SAYING: "Since I don't own a house I don't really care at the moment. It's actually quite funny when you see your nice car parked in front of your house. But I do agree that it contradicts data protection." WOMAN SIGNING LIST AGAINST GOOGLE STREET VIEW AT CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTRE (SOUNDBITE) (German) COLOGNE RESIDENT WHO IS IN FAVOUR OF STREET VIEW, MARTIN PUSCHEL, SAYING: "I have used it a few times on trips where street view already exists, to look at hotels and what street they are in and whether the area was okay or not. I think it's okay." PEOPLE OUTSIDE COLOGNE'S CITY HALL SENIOR CITY OFFICIAL GUIDO KAHLEN WALKING PAST IN HALLWAY (SOUNDBITE) (German) SENIOR COLOGNE CITY OFFICIAL, GUIDO KAHLEN, SAYING: "I am surprised and I am appalled. We had a clear deal: Google agreed with Consumer Minister (Ilse) Aigner to complete all complaints and only then will they put the revised version on the Internet."
  • Embargoed: 28th August 2010 12:04
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Communications,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAA7PU8KNKXSV29EY0DX4ZBO0RS
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Google's "Street View" mapping system which the company plans to introduce to Germany's 20 largest cities by the end of 2010 will be closely watched by the government, Germany's data protection commissioner said on Wednesday (August 11).
    Peter Schaar said Google's announcement to "set off the tool in just a few days came as somewhat of a surprise" but he welcomed the American company's move which promises to respect privacy requests by opting out of "Street View."
    "We don't know yet exactly what will happen to the data and whether the suggested procedure really is acceptable," Schaar said.
    In the western German city of Cologne with close to one million inhabitants, the local customer service centre put up lists where residents can remove their homes from Street View.
    Gottfried Breidenbach was one of the people who signed the list, saying he had protested to Google "some time ago" by fax.
    "Google then sent us a form from Hamburg with a deliberate lie. They claimed that so far, no buildings are on the Internet in Germany. That is wrong," Breidenbach said.
    Vera Kayser also opposes Street View and said "since I don't own a house I don't really care at the moment. It's actually quite funny when you see your nice car parked in front of your house. But I do agree that it contradicts data protection," Kayser said.
    Senior Cologne city official Guido Kahlen was outraged.
    "I am surprised and I am appalled. We had a clear deal: Google agreed with Consumer Minister (Ilse) Aigner to complete all complaints and only then will they put the revised version on the Internet," the city official said, adding "from my point of view, it is not just consumer unfriendly, it is illegal if facts are being created which ignore personal rights."
    In a country wary of surveillance due to the Nazis' Gestapo and East Germany's Stasi secret police, the response to Street View has been overwhelmingly negative even though Germans got assurances they can have images of their homes kept out.
    Google's announcement on Tuesday (August 10) that it would allow Germans to stay out of Street View failed to allay fears that privacy would be compromised by the navigation system.
    More than 10,000 Germans have already formally requested their homes be deleted from Street View. Criticism from watchdogs will likely push that figure higher.
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