Is Google invading our right to Privacy?

Abelson, Chapter 2: In a well-publicized news story, a man was caught “on camera” exiting a "gentleman's club" when Google photographed him for their StreetView project. He later sued Google because the revelation was unhappy news to his wife. Do you think Google is in the clear when they photograph the view from streets in your neighborhood?


"The explosive growth in digital technologies has radically altered our expectations about what will be private and shifted our thinking about what should be private"

As Abelson explains in chapter 2, technologies has completely changed our thoughts of what should and should not be private. As these technological changes have occurred, we have quickly been thrown into a world where almost anything you say or do can be duplicated or reprocessed. Many would complain, such as the man in the example stated who was photographed by google exiting a gentleman's club or the man who was held up for an hour trying to exit the parking garage, but, there are some benefits that go along with the intrusive technologies of today. Security is on everyone's mind and with the constant threat or chance of something occuring, I think most would rather be safe than have their privacy invaded.

Google's GoogleEarth is an amazing tool that has brought many people help all around the world. Google is not 'out to get' people, they are simply providing a service which allows citizens to get an up close view of almost any location. Although there are some drawbacks, I do not think Google should be held responsible for photographing things others do not want seen. As we have learned in many classes, you should not do things that you do not want in the news!!