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I'd say that Germans are repeatedly goated into hating or fearing one thing or another because media randomly pick up talking points from activists and then try
by gmueckl 5y ago
I'd say that Germans are repeatedly goated into hating or fearing one thing or another because media randomly pick up talking points from activists and then try to outdo each other by running that story to death while stirring up a public outcry. Google Street View was just unlucky enough to fall victim to one of these public bashing cycles.
- kuschku 5y agoGoogle Street View would've been illegal anyway. It's legal to take pictures of public spaces, but only if taken from the height of the average human. Street View had cameras that were quite a bit taller and could see over fences and hedges.
- gmueckl 5y agoGoogle Street View is actually legal in Germany. The European Court of Human Rights has finally ruled that taking pictures of houses does not violate any personal rights. Faces and car license plates are blurred, so these don't pose any issues either.
- kuschku 5y agoThe court ruling only applies if the pictures are taken at eye level, which is why older street view images can't be accessed (the first time they rolled it out, they used cameras at a height of over 3m). This was an expected judgement all the time. The height restriction is as people have a reasonable expectation of privacy behind their hedges or fences in their own backyard.