Here's some interesting news for the people of Newbury. Google have now been given permission to launch their StreetView here in the UK. This means that you will soon be able to use Google to get a street side view of every road and street in Newbury.
As you can imagine, there has been a fierce debate about whether Google should be allowed to do this. Traditionally here in the UK, we are quite protective of our privacy; especially when it comes to our homes and security. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on the side of the fence you sit) the Information Commissioner's Office has our interests at heart by saying:
"adequate safeguards to avoid any risk to the privacy or safety of individuals"In practice this means that people's faces will be blurred out and car registration numbers will not be shown.
A spokesman for the Internet giant went on to say: “We welcome the comments from the ICO. Street View is a valuable tool for people who wish to better understand a location and find information about the places they live and visit.
"We've always said we will not launch in UK until we are comfortable Street View complies with local law and that we will use technology, like face-blurring, licence plate blurring and operational controls, such as image removal tools, so Street View remains useful and in keeping with local norms wherever it is available”
So, people of Newbury. What is your view on this? Is it a useful tool, will you use it? Or are you worried that in the age of cyber crime, this is just one more way for people to find out about an address?
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