New York City Metblogs » Google Maps… Is It Legal?

Google Maps… Is It Legal?

Posted By nyc_cully On May 30, 2007 @ 8:27 pm In Uncategorized | Comments Disabled

Yesterday Noah posted about Google Maps ^[1], and the cool new feature that provides street level photography for several US cities. In the past few days as people around America have begun playing with it though a few questions have arisen. First Boing Boing reported that some shots are so clear that you can see inside people’s windows ^[2], or clearly read license plates ^[3]. Thankfully the New York City photography seems to have been blurred to avoid obvious identification, (the same magnification was used on this ^[4] Oakland shot, and this ^[4] New York shot, but the NY shot is WAY less clear). But a new problem is starting to show up… Google’s magic photo van took some shots that it shouldn’t have! Grokdotcom ^[5] points out that the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, which has been illegal to photograph since 9/11 is clearly shown. So I checked the GWB ^[6], which is also illegal to photograph, and clearly posted as such. Heck, if the magnification on that shot of the GWB was clearer you could read the sign saying it was illegal on the right! So what’s the story Google? Can your photographers not read? Any other cool/weird/illegal NYC stuff to be seen on Google’s new feature?

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URL to article: http://nyc.metblogs.com/2007/05/30/google-maps-is-it-legal/

URLs in this post:

[1] posted about Google Maps: http://nyc.metblogs.com/archives/2007/05/google_maps_tak.phtml

[2] see inside people’s windows: http://www.boingboing.net/2007/05/30/google_maps_is_spyin.html

[3] read license plates: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ie=UTF8&om=1&layer=c&ll=37.744454,-122.170887&spn=0.047306,0.080338&z=14&cbll=37.731929,-122.167951&cbp=1,320.049955222569,0.557067484109698,3

[4] this: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&om=1&layer=c&cbll=37.810427,-122.252497&cbp=1,314.584872492315,0.668945180620526,3&ll=37.813819,-122.252254&spn=0.011307,0.020084&z=16

[5] Grokdotcom: http://www.grokdotcom.com/2007/05/31/how-does-googles-new-street-view-get-illegal-pics/

[6] GWB: http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=upp%5Ber+level+george+washington+bridge&sll=40.854445,-73.942451&sspn=0.008375,0.016801&ie=UTF8&ll=40.856425,-73.953159&spn=0.008374,0.016801&z=16&om=0&layer=c&cbll=40.851972,-73.953883&cbp=1,287.51768488746,0.534050107181136,1

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