CSC 379:Week 4, Group 6
Mapping / Google Street View
Many are concerned about the invasiveness of satellite/aerospace imaging. Governments have complained of risks related to the availability of images of sensitive military or strategic sites, sometimes requesting obfuscation or blackouts of the compromising images. With the expansion of mapping technologies to the street level (see links below), more people have become concerned about how invasive to their privacy public photography can be.
Amongst many lawful and beneficial uses, mapping technologies have also made it easier for planning crimes.
Explore the ethical implications of mapping technologies. Should mapping technologies comply with the laws of every country that has access their services even if they are not located there? Are requests for censorship of public photography ethical? When? As mapping imagery increases in coverage and resolution over time, should there be limits set or censorship mandated to protect the public from lawful but invasive and sometimes unwanted photography?
Google Street View
Overview
Google Street View is a tool integrated into Google Maps that allows users to view routes from a street-level perspective. This tool is only available for select locations, usually large cities such as Miami and San Francisco. When using Street View, you are given a 360 degree view of the street from the perspective of a car on the street. The view is generated from actual photographs taken of the streets. There is a zoom feature incorporated into the view and people and private property are not censored by Google. Street View was developed as a tool to aid users in finding landmarks, shops, restaurants, and other points of interest in cities that would otherwise be foreign to a tourist or other traveler. Another touted feature is that you can take a 'virtual walk' around a Street View enabled city.
Concerns
There are several concerns that people have with Google Street View. Many people function under the assumption that their everyday actions are not being watched. Some of the Street View photographs, which are all readily accessible show people walking the streets or entering establishments. Most of these pictures seem harmless, but there are a few that show men walking into adult-themed bookstores, or women laying out sunbathing. Had these people known that they would be displayed to the world, they may have changed their plans for that particular day, and surely some of them would have never consented to these images being shown. While there are some obvious benefits to Street View, if even one person is offended by the content of the images then there is reason for concern of the ethicality of the tool. Some may argue that the pictures are taken from a public place, and would be visible to anyone who happened to be traveling through the area. While this is compelling, one must also consider the fact that the people photographed may not have had a problem with being seen by the general public in small numbers, but would object to being seen by the millions of people that use Google. There are many questions that can be raised about Street View regarding individual's ...>