Is It That Difficult To Understand The Difference Between Public Data And Private Data?

from the apparently-so... dept

Tue, Apr 15th 2008 6:14am — Mike Masnick

Just a little while after some folks in Pittsburgh, PA sued Google over its Street View offering, it appears that Google is getting ready to launch a similar offering in Australia. However, rather than celebrate a rather useful service, there's a somewhat ridiculous newspaper article in Australia charging Google execs with hypocrisy for not revealing private data about Australian Google execs. It's hard to see where the hypocrisy is here. Google is creating a database of public info, and the newspaper, by its own admission, was asking Google to give up private data on its execs. Despite what the newspaper implies, Google's Street View doesn't reveal who lives where -- it just shows photos taken from public roadways, just as anyone would see driving up and down those same roads. To equate that with private data about executives is simply wrong.

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Filed Under: australia, google maps, private data, public data, street view
Companies: google

20 Comments

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Ajax 4Hire, 15 Apr 2008 @ 6:33am

If I were a Google exec, I would...
use the sword of reciprocity.
I'll give up the private information ONLY if you print YOUR information beside it.

Of course then I would make up a set of private data for public use, sort of like my name Ajax 4Hire.
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Evil Mike, 15 Apr 2008 @ 7:14am

The borings
really did sue Google over the street view stuff? Wasn't that an April Fool's gag??
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- Alimas, 15 Apr 2008 @ 7:56am
  
  Re: The borings
  No, that was legitimate.
  Exercising their right to be moronic.
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Tick-Tock, 15 Apr 2008 @ 7:17am

Speaking of hipocrites...
http://valleywag.com/365008/marissa-mayer-gets-a-stoplight-and-a-room-without-street-view

http:// valleywag.com/373375/google-updates-street-view-in-san-francisco-leaves-marissa-mayers-pad-off-the-g rid
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- Alimas, 15 Apr 2008 @ 8:05am
  
  Re: Speaking of hipocrites...
  Uhm...
  
  As one commenter and the article say, (and a little street view trip around the specified area shows,) it is a very high traffic area and the light was financed by the people living in the hotel (including Marissa) to improve the safety of them trying to get out of that side street.
  
  It had nothing to do with Google, despite what that article author has apparently pulled out of his ass.
  In the street view one can clearly see down the side street, perceive and dead end and garner that it wasn't necessary to drive down it for the Google maps.
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  - Boost, 15 Apr 2008 @ 9:25am
    
    Re: Re: Speaking of hipocrites...
    Meh, maybe if the kept some of their money and just rode bicycles to work (lord knows you can do it nearly all year in the Bay area) they woudln't need a damned stoplight. But, hey, they did pay the city for it so who cares? Well, they should have to pay all the people that the stoplight inconveniences. Those people now have to pay more money in gasoline because of it.
    
    I really don't care...one more stop light in a congested city. If those people were smart, they'd leave the city.
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Le Blue Dude, 15 Apr 2008 @ 8:02am

So long as...
So long as the google execs' street visible houses are on there, I don't care what addresses they have. I don't feel any need to verify.
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LBD, 15 Apr 2008 @ 8:02am

Reason
Reason I don't feel any need to verify is that if they took said houses out, there would be suspicious gaps
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PRMan, 15 Apr 2008 @ 8:13am

Moronic?
I don't think the people suing Google are too moronic. The Google van took pictures of their backyard from the middle of their driveway. That's not a public street or view and they have every right to be upset that Google invaded their privacy.

Still, Google took it down with a simple request, so short of a class action, I'm not sure what the point of the lawsuit is.

Now if Google was refusing to take it down, that would be different, but it looks like it was an honest mistake of taking pictures while the van driver was trying to turn around on a narrow road that becomes a driveway.
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- Alimas, 15 Apr 2008 @ 8:23am
  
  Re: Moronic?
  Yeah, asking for the pictures to be removed (as they were an obvious mistake) wouldn't been reasonable and Google did do so.
  
  But the lawsuit? Thats moronic. Their reasoning for it is horrible too.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Apr 2008 @ 9:05am

isn't the American dream is any1 get get rich quick?

when those ppl saw a multi billion dollar company they figured they would try there luck.
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mdmadph (profile), 15 Apr 2008 @ 9:17am

"Is It That Difficult To Understand The Difference Between Public Data And Private Data?"

Yes. Yes it is.

Look no further than people getting upset at having their raunchy pasts (that they freely uploaded to Facebook) discovered when they apply for a new job.
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JohnMc, 15 Apr 2008 @ 9:28am

Not necessarily true
Though the delineation between public and private can be pretty clear, it appears that even Google can't tell the difference. There are instances listed in the blog '
smoking gun' that show clearly that in order to get the photographs of somebody's garage they had to have infringed on a private drive OFF of a public street.

link
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- Alimas, 15 Apr 2008 @ 9:45am
  
  Re: Not necessarily true
  C'mon, are you kidding?
  Thats the same driving error as the other claim.
  The road (excuse me, driveway) appears just like any other road - even bearing a name apparently - "Goldenbrook Ln.".
  
  This sort of thing is going to happen on occasion just cause we often build our roadways in confusing manners.
  
  Perhaps the driver assumed the folks taking in the data he gathered would realize his mistake? Perhaps he should have said something himself. Obviously more effort needs to be put into making sure the mapping is done accurately and respectfully.
  
  But to imply this was deliberate trespassing seems to be taking some liberties with the photos on the page.
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Anonymous, 15 Apr 2008 @ 1:36pm

The only worry that I have is that my permission would not be given when the picture is taken. Even if you are outside in full view, it should not give anyone the right to allow people to view you there for perpetuity.

Of course this will all go away as soon as some killer uses this project as a tool to commit homicide.
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Jeremy, 15 Apr 2008 @ 5:06pm

@#15
Are you kidding me? "Of course this will all go away as soon as some killer uses this project as a tool to commit homicide." How is using the street view any different from driving/walking by the house and taking pictures? Oh, wait, its not. If someone is lazy enough to use this to see pictures of a house instead of actually going to the house, then they are probably lazy enough to not even attempt the homicide in the first place.
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Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 15 Apr 2008 @ 7:39pm

Is it private if it's on Google?
Anyone else remember the CNET story uncovering personal information about Google's own CEO using Google itself? The one that resulted in a ban by Google on talking to CNET reporters?
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Daz, 15 Apr 2008 @ 9:21pm

Retarded Aussie rag
Thats just trying to beat up a story out of nothing. The Australian is a pretty shit paper, though (probably still want the White Australia Policy brought back). I believe legally Google wouldn't even have to remove license plate numbers and the like as they have promised to do, because if you can photograph it from a public place its legal (except in a few circumstances).
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Scott Cleland, 16 Apr 2008 @ 11:36am

Google's abysmal record on privacy
This is Scott Cleland, President of Precursor LLC and Chairman of Netcompetition.org putting my "two cents" again on one of Mr. Masnick's blogs strongly defending Google when Google may not be fully worthy of such a vigorous defense.
Google has serious privacy "issues" which I highlighted and documented with many links to mainstream sources -- in this Precursorblog post on Google and privacy -- http://www.precursorblog.com/node/665
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- Mike (profile), 16 Apr 2008 @ 11:43am
  
  Re: Google's abysmal record on privacy
  Um. Scott. I was not defending Google on all privacy issues. Just the one discussed in this post.
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