Another day, another development in the Google Street View story. Canada’s Privacy Commissioner and several provincial privacy commissioners have commented on street level imaging technology by releasing a timely Fact Sheet on the related privacy issues.
The commissioners point out that ”a common misconception is that a company doesn’t need your permission to take your photograph in a public place. In fact, one of your key protections under Canadian privacy law is that you should know when your picture is being taken for commercial reasons, and what your image will be used for. Your consent is also needed.”
The Winnipeg Free Press is also running an excellent story in today’s newspaper, which highlights some of the broader issues related to Google Street View. Arthur Schafer, a professor at the University of Manitoba and director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics, comments in the story about the related ethical issues while I comment in the story about the related legal issues.
[...] investigating whether Google StreetView violates privacy laws: you can get the bilingual story from Brian Bowman of On The Cutting Edge and Vincent Gautrais de Chaire en droit de la sécurité et des affaires [...]