The issues surrounding online privacy and Google are never far away from one another. Today Google (as owners of YouTube) have been ordered by the Department of Justice to provide user details from the online video site in their lawsuit with media group Viacom for copyright infringement. That is every record of every user and what they watched; 12 terabytes of IP addresses and usernames.
In today's FT, Google's lawyer Catherine Lacavera says the Search Company was "disappointed" and that Google are asking Viacom to "respect users' privacy and allow us to anonymise the logs".
While it is laudable of Google to fight for the protection of its users' privacy it could equally be accused of adopting contradictory practices with private information, the latest accusation coming from the Privacy International organisation.
They complained to Google that the Street View tool (which I enthusiastically blogged about a few weeks ago) could contravene the UK's Data Protection laws because its images inevitably feature identifiable members of the public. Because Google make commercial gain from the images, the argument goes that each individual should have to give their permission if they appear.
Google on the other hand say that they are using technology to blur the faces of anyone who is snapped by the Google car taking the pictures. Privacy International has asked the firm to release the technology specs to prove that the blurring will actually work on both car number plates as well as faces. If Google doesn't comply with this request, they will be getting in touch with the Information Commissioner in order to prevent Street View UK from being published.
Darren Waters BBC blog on this, includes a copy of the letter Privacy International sent to Google. The comments there are interesting too, with plenty of discussion as to the legality of snapping away in public.
While we are on the subject of Google, I came across what has been dubbed as the holographic version of Google Earth. Even though the technology used means that the image is very much 2D, the projection is interfaced something along the lines of a large iPod Touch. It is an impressive and effortless way to control the application. I continue to be inspired by the ways people conceive to fully interact with information.
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