Background

• Google Maps allows people to search any physical address and see either a geographic map or overhead satellite image -- using virtual three-dimensional satellite image program Google Earth. In some major cities, searchers also have the option of selecting Street View, which provides a 360-degree image of a specific street address, showing ordinary people conducting daily business. According to Google, none of the Street View images are in real-time. In fact, most are months, even years old by the time they are uploaded to Google Maps. Google captured the images using vehicles equipped with special cameras, while also purchasing some images from Immersive Media, a data company.
  
  

Controversy

• In June 2007, The New York Times reported that individuals and privacy experts were criticizing Google Maps for the fact that Street View seemed to show people in unfavorable positions. One photograph showed a man walking into a pornographic bookstore in Oakland, CA, though his face wasn't visible. Another image showed two women sunbathing in only bikinis in Palo Alto, CA. Another woman complained to the newspaper that one Street View image of the building she lived in actually showed her cat sitting in a window.
  
  

Legal Issues

• Edward A. Jurkevics, a principal at Chesapeake Analytics, a consulting firm that specializes in mapping, told The New York Times that courts have consistently ruled that people can be photographed while they are in public places. Google indicated that its Street View images are no different from what a person could see if they were on public property, driving or walking down a street. Google Maps excludes or blurs out images of many sites with high-importance, including the roof of the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Vice President's house, and a large number of military installations, including bases, radar sites and airports.
  
  

Privacy Policy

• According to Google's privacy policy for Google Maps, Street View uses a cutting-edge technology to blur out faces and motor vehicle license plates. In addition, users can request that an image be further blurred out, such as blurring out an entire house or a car. If users find images that contain inappropriate content, they can click the "Report a problem" button inside the image, write and submit their complaint in an online form, and Google will review the concern.