Google Street View does not violate privacy: Japan

TOKYO: Japan's government has found that Google's Street View service does not violate privacy laws if the US Internet giant takes safeguards such as blurring people's faces and car licence plates.

Street View, where car-mounted cameras take 360-degree footage of urban scenes that are then matched to online city maps, has met a flurry of privacy complaints in Japan and some other countries.

But an advisory panel to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry has concluded that the service "will not violate privacy laws" if the company meets certain conditions, ministry official Hideki Murohashi said.

These include setting cameras low, blurring identifiable images of individuals, and never entering private properties when shooting, he said.

"The company has already taken these measures now," he added.

Google launched its Street View service for 12 Japanese cities in August last year.