Last night’s talk back radio was all about whether or not Google’s Street View was breaking privacy laws. Most of the callers found the ability for others to look at their house as an invasion of their privacy and a boost for burglars. They said that anyone could now look at their house on the net in order to case the joint in preparation to burgle it. They also wondered what the whole point of the exercise had been.

Someone who had just come back from San Francisco (where Google Site View has been in operation for some time), said it was a boon to his travelling experience. He could look up where he wanted to go, check how to get there, have a look at some landmarks and organise his own trip round San Francisco without ever asking someone how to get somewhere. He felt more in control being able to do this.

I have looked up my place and yes you can see my house and move 360 degrees around and move via the arrows through the streets seeing every house. My car was outside at the time of the photo and because of a few indicators I could work out when the photos were taken by Google. Some months ago. My registration number was blurred and any people’s faces are blurred, but this doesn’t really protect my car or those people because they could still be recognised.

George Orwell and 1984 or just a static and old picture that anyone who goes past my house right now can see anyway if they wished?

I tended to agree with the talk back callers last night in that it was an invasion of my privacy, but after looking at my own house, I decided it wasn’t. I thought too that it had many uses. Real estate searches and tourism were obviously two of them. Being able to map out how to get from one place to another is another.

Having a look at some old places I’ve lived and checking them out now? I could do that within an hour anyway by driving around a couple of suburbs.

Google did pass Privacy laws in this country before it began the process. What those privacy laws don’t cover though is the advent of the internet. I can see many worse invasions of privacy that the internet can be used for. Showing a picture or video of other people taken with a mobile phone or Cyber bullying.

The most frightening use of Google Street View is the possibility of a terrorist attack. But I really don’t think home grown terrorists would use Google View to go about their business. I think they’d know their targets. Similarly overseas terrorists would not really be using Google street view to plan attacks. Our houses are not really their targets. Crowded places are or embassies and they know where they are already.

Australian law should be reviewed as far as privacy goes with the potential privacy invasions the internet can now cause to people. But my house isn’t a concern to me. Don’t you already have security if you are concerned about burglaries? Don’t you have insurance? My credit card details and my actual address would be something I would never publish. But you can’t look up my house now can you, because I don’t say where I live anywhere on any of my public blogs, web sites, Face book or whatever else.

Domestic tourism is also a benefit. The old country drive is a thing of the past. But now I can go see (in very low resolution), places that I might have gone in the past. I don’t even have to get out of the car!

What do you think?