Google Japan To Help Victims of Street View Abuse 54
Joshua writes "After repeated concerns from Japanese citizens over privacy rights violations involving Street View and a probe by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Google Japan has announced that it will help victims of Street View photo abuse take action against offending sites. Google Japan said it would send requests to the sites for removal of maliciously used Street View images. It will also potentially block the site from Google's search engine and consider legal action for those sites which ignore or refuse the request. Action to this extent against secondary-use abusers is reportedly a first in relationship to Google's Street View worldwide."
Re:Examples? (Score:5, Informative)
There are entire [corank.com] sites [gstreetsightings.com] devoted [googlestre...wfunny.com] to ridiculing people and things found on Google Street View, which I assume is the kind of thing the complaints are about.
Re:Examples? (Score:3, Informative)
The story lacks any examples of what might constitute malicious abuse.
From TFA: "More recent complaints have been about secondary sites using Googles photos maliciously, such as for discrimination and bullying." Ok so no specific examples are given but I guess google isn't just reacting to hot air!
But the main point is the Google is responding to criticism of an invasion of privacy with a rather blatant attempt to redirect the arrow.
Well this is their second attempt at redirecting this particular arrow, the first resulted in them retaking 'numerous images about 16 inches lower than the original Street View picture height', which sounds rather bizarre!
Whatever they do 'shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted' springs to mind . . .
Re:Examples? (Score:2, Informative)
The root of the problem is not privacy, it is discrimination, human rights problems and how Japanese unwilling to deal with it. Here we go again: Google Earth maps out discrimination against burakumin caste in Japan [timesonline.co.uk].
This is 2005: UN Independent Investigator Raps Japan for Discrimination [voanews.com]. Quote: "An independent investigator from the U.N. Commission on Human Rights says he will report that discrimination in Japan is "deep and profound....Mr. Doudou Diene told reporters in Tokyo he found no strong political will to combat racism and discrimination. He also noted what he called a strong xenophobic drive among the Japanese public. This xenophobic drive is expressed by associating minorities, certain minorities, to crime, to violence, to dirt," he said....Mr. Diene said the worst discrimination appears to be the problems a Japanese social outcast group, KNOWN AS "BURAKUMIN" face with finding housing and employment. He called their condition "shocking and terrible," and said their plight would be included in his preliminary report.".
Another example: Racial Discrimination in Japan [americanchronicle.com]. Quote "Japan is not usually synonymous with racism in Western media, unlike Mississippi or Soweto, but its society is pretty racist nonetheless....Also, the Japanese landlords do not normally hang out a "For Rent" sign at an apartment building. They go to a "fudosan"- a real estate agency to help them find tenants. However, try and check out some signs near your local "fudosan"- you can usually see those that say: "NO ANIMALS, NO PROSTITUTES, NO FOREIGNERS." Lovely, isn't it?.";
and another: "JAPANESE ONLY" SIGNS IN MISAWA, JAPAN [debito.org];
and another: U.N. Urges Japan to Stop Discrimination against Korean School Children and Education [korea-np.co.jp];
and another: Japanese Discrimination Against Women [hrsolidarity.net];
and another: Housing Discrimination in Japan [japanprobe.com];
and another: Foreigners in Japan say openness all talk [davidappleyard.com]. Quote "I went to almost 25 real estate agents trying to get them to show me apartments," she recalled. "Finally, one of them took me aside and said, 'Japanese don't like to rent to foreigners. Many Japanese actually hate foreigners....Without a doubt, Japan is the most discriminatory place I have ever lived in";
Wikipedia: Ethnic issues in Japan [wikipedia.org]
Which makes me wonder, are non-Japanese allowed to buy Japanese products?
Re:Examples? (Score:1, Informative)
Please. If you don't want people to see you acting like a jackass in public, then don't act like a jackass in public. There are already plenty of sites [peopleofwalmart.com] devoted to ridiculing people who don't understand this simple rule.