Bangalore Police objected to Google’s collection of high definition images to give users 360 degree views of streets and has asked the company to halt its Street View operations over privacy and security issues.
The company has grounded the fleet after an objection from the city police. According to Google, it received a letter from the Commissioner of Police of Bangalore asking it to stop the cars. Equipped with hi-tech cameras, the cars were taking 360 degree pictures and mapping the roads for the Street View service
The city of Bangalore has a high density of defence sensitive establishments such as Indian Space Research Organisation, Defence Research and Development Organisation labs, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Bharat Electronics, Aeronautics Development Establishment, etc. Hence, the concerns are understandable.
A statement from Google said it had received a letter from the city police commissioner asking it to stop the cars.
Google India had launched its Street View project in Bangalore on May 26 with an aim to capture the street views of the city to feed its popular Google Maps platform. These images were to be embedded onto the popular Google Maps and Google Earth services.
A Google spokesperson said, “We confirm that we have received a letter from the commissioner of police regarding Street View. We are currently reviewing it and have stopped our cars until we have a chance to answer any questions or concerns the police have.”
Sources said the commissioner has asked the search engine giant to stop photographing streets of Bangalore. The commissioner has also called Google officials for further discussions on the matter.
In Austria and Czech Republic the service was banned temporarily. Recently, in April Google closed down Street View in Germany after privacy issues raised by the government and told European Union that it may withdraw the service from the member countries due to new laws on storing photographs.
Street View is a popular feature in Google Maps that allows users to virtually explore and navigate a neighbourhood through panoramic street-level images.
