Czech Republic Blocks Street View

24 Sep 2010

The government of the Czech Republic has banned Google's Street View mapping service after concerns over the height and angle of the images.

Officials have argued that the cameras were placed at too high an angle, and threatened citizens' privacy by offering views above those of a normal line of site.

Igor Nemec, head of the Czech Office for Personal Data Protection, told reporters that Google had also failed properly to register with the government as a foreign entity.

The issue is the latest in an ongoing conflict between Google and some European countries over Street View.

The company caused an uproar among officials in several European countries earlier this year when Street View equipment was found to have collected data from local Wi-Fi networks without permission.

A proposal being considered in Germany, meanwhile, will severely limit geo-mapping services such as Google Street View.

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