Greece bans the Google Street View cameras

Posted by Adam Bunker on Wed 13 May 2009

Fears over "Big Brother" nature of Google's mapping service

If we’re being honest, this whole thing about Google Street View being an invasion of privacy is just getting old. Of course we’re likely to side with exciting tech over needlessly prudish conservative types, but the photo-mapping service must only have been labelled as “controversial” to make headlines, right?

- Google street View hits the UK

- Reasons why Street View should stay

Apparently, Greece doesn’t think so. The Greek Data Protection Agency has halted Google’s camera-laden cars from doing their thing throughout the tourist hotspot until the internet giant can stump up a satisfactory level of “additional information”. Clearly scared of privacy issues, a spokesperson from the Greek government said “We are not going to allow our country to become a Big Brother society.”

Google has remained proud throughout, claiming that there is in fact no real ‘ban’. A statement issued says that “We have received a request for further information from the Greek authorities, and we are happy to continue discussing these issues with them and provide information they request. We will discuss with them whether it is appropriate for us to continue driving in the meantime.”

In this day and age, surely it’d be madness to fully block such a forward thinking service? Says the Information Commissioner’s Office on the matter: “it is not in the public interest to turn the digital clock back.”
What do you think of Streetview? Let us know below.

Link: The Telegraph