Number Plates News

When the Law Wants Number Plates Blurred!

23 April 2009

Google’s photographic image mapping facility, Google Street View, has received mixed publicity recently. Following revelations that some photographs included in the service might show people’s faces and car number plates, complaints were received by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office.

After examining complaints, the ICO, which is the UK’s data protection watchdog, has ruled that the Google service does not contravene legislation. The ICO acknowledged that, "It is important to take a common sense approach towards Street View and the relatively limited privacy intrusion it may cause."

The ICO accepts that the images stored on the service are pictures of streets where there happen to be people present: they are not intended to be pictures of those people. However, the ICO has said that faces and vehicle registration plates should be blurred or obscured in order to protect the privacy of citizens.