Europe's data protection supervisor, Peter Hustinx, urged Google Thursday to respect local privacy rules as it prepares to launch its Street View function this side of the Atlantic.

Although he hasn't been in direct contact with the Internet search giant about Street View, Hustinx is very aware of it.

"Street View is only available in the U.S. still, but I understand that it will work differently when it's launched in Canada, so there is a capacity to deploy the service in different ways to suit different privacy laws," Hustinx said in a press conference, adding: "I'd encourage Google to work closely with European data-protection authorities too."

"Taking pictures on a street isn't in itself a problem but taking pictures anywhere can be. We have sent a very strong message to Google and other Internet search companies in our report on search engines about complying with European privacy laws," he said.

"The same applies here. Respecting data-protection laws is central to Google's business. Success or failure for them in Europe will depend on them respecting the laws. They are smart, I'm confident they won't ignore the laws," Hustinx added.

Last month, cars daubed with the Google logo, carrying what looked like sophisticated laser scanning photographic equipment on their roofs were spotted on the streets of Milan and Rome in Italy.

Earlier this month, similar vehicles were seen in some French cities too.

Google's global privacy counsel, Peter Fleischer, wrote in a blog that the company will respect local laws as it rolls out the Street View service in countries outside the U.S.

"In other parts of the world local laws and customs are more protective of individuals' right to privacy in public spaces, and therefore they have a more limited concept of the right to take and publish photographs of people in public places," he wrote

The feature has already sparked some controversy in the U.S., where Street View is available for several cities including San Francisco. The photographic images of the streets often include pedestrians on sidewalks or in cafes, and car license-plate numbers are clearly visible.

In the U.S. Google will remove images of people if they ask it to do so. However, this retroactive action isn't likely to satisfy Europe's data-protection authorities.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.

Whitepapers

• Selecting Effective Virtual Directories
• Best Practices for HP Servers and HP Enterprise Virtual Array in a Microsoft Exchange
• Compliance, Protection, Recovery: A Layered Approach to Laptop Security
• Endpoint Security: Data Protection for IT, Freedom for Laptop Users
• IT Departments on Data Security: A Research Concepts Survey
• Laptop Security Tool Helps Allina Hospitals Track 97% of IT Assets

View more SOFTWARE whitepapers

Webcasts

• Managing the End User Experience-A Real World Example of Success
• Lowering the Cost of Email Archives
• Google Webcast: Why archive email? Top challenges and best practices
• High Availability for SQL Server 2005 Using Array-Based Replication and Host-Based Mirroring Technologies
• Technical Overview of Exchange Server 2007 with HP Servers and Storage
• Bringing Order and Security to your Mobile Workforce: Corporate Mobility Policy and Device Management On-Demand

View more SOFTWARE webcasts

Special Reports

• Application Performance Management Executive Guide
• Executive Guide: Building a Service Oriented Architecture
• IT Buyers Guide To: Collaboration

View more SOFTWARE special reports