Google sued over Mental Suffering
Published August 3, 2008 by Mike Seddon
I thought I’d heard it all, but now I read that Google is being sued for causing mental suffering.
This all stems from Google’s latest offering called Street View.
You are probably aware of Google Earth, the software that allows you to view practically anywhere in the world through pictures taken from satellites.
Google Street View gets in closer and you can get right down to street views. The technology used here are cars that have cameras strapped to them which merrily take pictures as they drive around.
One couple in America are suing Google because they found their house on Street View and said seeing it there caused them mental suffering. Sounds very extreme to me.
However there is a serious side to this. For example, the quality of the pictures is such that you can see very clearly the number plates on the cars on the driveway. With this sort of private information, it starts to get easy for determined individuals to steal your identity.
Of course they could drive up to your driveway today and get those details but the power of the web allows people from anywhere in the world to visit your house!
The problem was highlighted when Google added very detailed pictures of the Fort Sam Houston army base in Texas onto their software. They have subsequently been removed.
Filed under Google
