Google’s Goggles gives some goosebumps
An internet service launched last week by Google to help cameraphone users to identify strangers in the street has been blocked because of alarm over its threat to personal privacy.
The new service, called Goggles, is a picture search which uses images rather than words to trawl the web.
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[T]he most controversial aspect of the new visual search tool is its capacity to allow users to take a photo of a stranger to find out more about them. With millions of people having an online presence, complete with photos, on websites such as Facebook, it is possible to use the search tool to identify people, obtain contact information, and learn about their tastes in music, their friends and their background.
Google has now confirmed that it is blocking this use of Goggles until the implications have been fully explored. Marissa Mayer, the vice-president of Google's search product and user experience, said: "We are blocking out people's faces if people try to use Google Goggles to search for information about them.”
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Google has been criticised before for ignoring privacy concerns. The human rights watchdog, Privacy International, rated the company "hostile to privacy", the lowest rating awarded out of 20 companies assessed. It said every corporate announcement from Google had "some new practice involving surveillance". It also said Google was leading a "race to the bottom" among internet firms, many of which did little to protect their users. Google's Streetview, which provides a panoramic view of every street, has been criticised on similar grounds. Privacy advocates say Streetview has shown men leaving strip clubs, protesters at an abortion clinic and sunbathers in bikinis.Jeremy Laurance | Independent/UK
posted by Tom Nadeau at 6:35 AM
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