The launching of Street View feature for Google Maps in 2007 has brought about both positive and negative consequences. An obvious advantage of this feature is that it is somewhat helpful, especially getting to places in dense city areas where one has never been before, to be able to go and look at the destination or at complicated intersections ahead of time.
However, there are also several considerable drawbacks of Google Street View. Since it was launched, major privacy issues have been raised about the appropriateness of some images. One of the large privacy threats is that the technology allows users, viewing photographs of cities in the US, UK, Japan, France, Italy and others, to zoom in close enough to even see inside front windows. Yet, the larger concern is for people who were captured entering and leaving certain places, including strip clubs, sex shops, abortion and fertility clinics, and domestic violence shelters.
Even though Google Street View feature provides tools for removal of inappropriate or sensitive images, it does not solve the entire problem. Many victims do not know that their images are on the site. By the time they find this out, thousands, or even millions, of users may have seen the security- or privacy-compromising images.
Some users may take advantage of this information and, further, use it in some illegal or criminal ways. Perhaps, Google Street View may be a perfect robbery and stalker tool. A burglar can figure out how to get into one’s house or pick out a window or bush to hide behind at night, and then plan a decent escape route all on the internet.
As technology gets more advanced providing all this readily discoverable information, it gets harder for individuals to remain invisible. Maybe, in the future, everyone will be able to track everyone all the time.
i totally agree with you. Organized crimes are now going to thrive and be perfected and stalkers especially are having a field day with this technology. "Technology is our future and our downfall" so to speak! There was a story on the news about how a man or rather pevert would go into a girl's apartment and put on her lingerie and pleasure himself while she was away at work. By good luck and trust of her sixth sense, she was able to set a camera of her house and tape the perpetrator. He was later arrested and charged with breaking and entry. Who knows what the man's sick fetish would have escalated into if he had not been caught?
ReplyDeleteLast but not least in the case of invasion of privacy, although the lady was able to get the man apprehended with inexpensive video equipment, this equipment however can also be used for voyeurism - a crime that has not have a voice in most states and thus people are able to get away with. Voyeurism is a psychosexual disorder in which a person derives sexual pleasure and gratification from looking at the naked bodies and genital organs or observing the sexual acts of others. The voyeur is usually hidden from view of others. Voyeurism is a form of paraphilia. As i said A number of states have statutes that render voyeurism a crime. Such statutes vary widely regarding definitions of voyeurism. Most states specifically prohibit anyone from photographing or videotaping another person, without consent, while observing that person in the privacy of his home or some other private place. As i said, A number of states have statutes that render voyeurism a crime. Such statutes vary widely regarding definitions of voyeurism.
Anyway, thanks Bakha for providing me with my next blog topic.....it's mine you guys....my next blog will cover more information on voyeurism...
You know there are two sides to everything. Google map veiwing is a super and adequate way of finding things and places you coul;dn't find easily. Some people will like it and others won't and that's just find because we just can't have everything both ways. It may reveal some people privacy which not right but it also help other people find places they couldn't find that easy. I totally agreed with people who are oppose to it and I can totally understand why. I on the other hand agreed with people who are for it because it is of great help and so we all have to give and take.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt, Google Street View is a remarkable feature. Yet, some of the pictures presented there, especially the ones taken from popular streets, may capture folks in compromising situations and make these scenes available to the entire world. I think it is horrible. Those people are not often aware about privacy-violating pictures of them on the internet. So, they do not take necessary actions to remove those pictures until someone else points them out, sometimes in an unpleasant manner. I understand what you are talking about Jeff, but I still think that some pictures on Google Street View should not be there.
ReplyDeleteThis is technology that has existed for quite a while now. It is just recently being released to the public. It is always interesting to see how these kind of things turn out though. For example, the Internet existed for quiet a while before it was mass released to the general public. That drastically changed the world, and still is. I don't think this is going to affect things as dramatically as you think though. If problems existed before this they will not create new ones. When talking about organized crime, if someone wants to do something vengeful or find you badly enough, they will. They don't need this technology to do it.
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