Google’s Street View is a functionality that U.S. Internet users take for granted. When we’re looking up a new restaurant to try or checking out a potential apartment, Street View allows us to get real pictures of any street or building in public view from the ground level up. Included in Street view are the people walking on the street as well as cars parked on the street.
Now entering the international market, Google is facing obstacles from the Swiss and Israeli governments, each with diverging rationales for their resistance.
Concerned from a personal privacy point of view, Switzerland contends that Street View is a breach of personal privacy because Google can’t ensure that 100% of all faces of individuals and license plates of cars are blurred. Meanwhile, Google is continuing to take “street view” pictures in Switzerland and petitioning Swiss courts to allow it to load the new images.
Also adopting a hesitant attitude towards Street View is the Israeli government, but for a different reason–national security. The Israeli government is balancing the benefits of Street View (in particular, the promotion of tourism) and the risk of exposure of information to potential terrorism. Israel argues that Street View would facilitate terrorists attack. Palestinian militants had used Google Earth previously to identify targets. Nevertheless, the government intends to work with Google to slowly introduce Street View to its citizens.
Some argue that the decision regarding Google Street View should not be made wholesale by the Israeli government and suggest the default for each community should be no Street View with the ability to opt-in if the community decided to grant permission.