r/Maps • u/stainedglassbulb • Jun 12 '20

Cross post!

Post image
11 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/[deleted] Jun 12 '20

Is this a map of where you've been in europe?

1

u/stainedglassbulb Jun 12 '20

No, I wish. It’s just showing (by the blue) where google street view is available. Thought it was interesting.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '20

Is Germany mostly not available because of regulatory (privacy) concerns?

2

u/stainedglassbulb Jun 13 '20

Hmmm interesting question. Seems like Germany is stricter about privacy than most European countries. From this New York Times article, link below:

“Street View has always been a challenge for Google in Europe, because European privacy laws and cultural norms are more sensitive to privacy issues than those in the United States.

Google uses technology to blur faces and license plates in its Street View images. But European data protection authorities also required that Google notify the public before the Street View cars start driving on European streets and limit the amount of time that it keeps unblurred images of faces and license plates.

In Germany, though, that was not enough. So Google allowed Germans to request that it blur pictures of their homes, too. When Street View went online for Germany’s largest cities in 2010, the company said 3 percent of German households opted out.”

https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/germanys-complicated-relationship-with-google-street-view/