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RE: ?
By Moishe on 3/23/2009 9:42:33 AM , Rating: 3
The problem is that he isn't thinking. Privacy is like anything else, we need it and there should be some expectation of privacy in certain areas, but in the street, you should not be able to object to your image being taken. Public is *public* and it's the responsibility of the individual to behave within society's rules when in public.

RE: ?
By ElementZero on 3/23/2009 9:53:44 AM , Rating: 2
What a moron. Surely those camera take pictures with either a timer or something that is hooked into the mileage of the car (or it counts mileage itself). That being said, being able to get the EXACT frame of the picture as the previous one would be impossible.

RE: ?
By sapster86 on 3/23/2009 10:04:44 AM , Rating: 3
I'm guessing the system works in a similar way to aerial survey data capture, there will be predetermined data capture points along the route (that insure there is an overlap both forwards and to the side so a seamless route can be created) and the onboard GPS that geotags each photo will also be use to tell the computer to take the photos at these predetermined points.

RE: ?
By Triple Omega on 3/23/2009 10:16:22 AM , Rating: 3
But what is public? If my picture isn't being taken the only people that can see me are the ones that are around me at that moment. If I act accordingly I could put myself into a situation that I would be comfortable with only with those people. If at that moment a camera-car drives by and takes my picture, suddenly the rules have changed and hundreds of millions of people could possibly see me in that situation.

So there is no one definition of public, it all depends on the situation. And as long as people don't want everyone to know everything about them there will be "public" situations that they will want to keep between them and the people around at that moment.

RE: ?
By Moishe on 3/23/2009 10:39:36 AM , Rating: 2
I agree that there are different idea of public, but you are walking on the street in plain view. Someone takes a pic of you... is that fine? Is it fine if that image is posted online? Is it the odds of a million people seeing you?

Lets face it, if you don't want to be seen, stay indoors or wear a hood. Don't burden others with preemptively protecting your privacy, protect your own preemptively and accept it when you haven't done that well enough.

RE: ?
By Triple Omega on 3/23/2009 11:15:40 AM , Rating: 2
Thats not what I'm talking about. I'm not talking about being seen, but being seen in certain situations.

For example, an American going to the Netherlands on holiday might not want to be seen by other Americans smoking marijuana for fear of making the wrong impression. He or she would however be fine with the locals seeing it as they find it normal and they don't know them.

There are also plenty of situations imaginable where a picture could easily be wrongfully interpreted as it is just a snapshot of a moment in time and often without context.

It's like talking on the phone in a café. You might not care that the people around you can hear what your saying as you don't know them and they don't know you. You wouldn't want it to be taped and posted on the internet however as people that DO know you might hear it.

RE: ?
By PlasmaBomb on 3/23/2009 11:39:01 AM , Rating: 2
'Fraid of the wife finding out about the affair Omega?

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RE: ?
By jRaskell on 3/23/09, Rating: 0
RE: ?
By LRonaldHubbs on 3/23/2009 11:41:34 AM , Rating: 2
Your argument is tangential to this discussion because you are using 'public' in a different context. Public when talking about roads simply means not privately owned -- owned by the state, paid for by citizens through government. 'Reasonable expectation of privacy' is the wording commonly used to describe the protection citizens have within the confines of their own property (in house, car, etc). However, the expectation of privacy is not reasonable in public space and therefore is generally not protected. If you put yourself into an undesirable situation while in public, too bad.

RE: ?
By afkrotch on 3/23/2009 8:42:00 PM , Rating: 2

How about the times when the Google van decides to drive up a private driveway or community and starts snapping pictures.

RE: ?
By Pryde on 3/24/2009 1:02:46 AM , Rating: 2
Most Private Roads/Driveways in my area are not clearly marked, when I started my job working for the local Council Roading Company I had to learn where all these were and there was a surprising amount of unmarked Private Roads that we do not care for. It is easy to see how the google drivers can be mistaken.

If you have any complaint that the google van has taken pictures from private property they are more than happy to remove the images

RE: ?
By mmcdonalataocdotgov on 3/26/2009 8:06:44 AM , Rating: 2
That is true that anything in plain view does not rise to the level of reasonable expectation of privacy for purposes of 4th amendment protections against unlawful search and seizure. However, this is a private company trying to stay in business by accommodating the wishes of its users and advertisers. So it can either make the decision to stay in business by complying where it is not too difficult, as here, or it can stand firm, and go out of business, where even the fruits of victory, will be as ashes in (its) mouth.

