Macao denies Google request for Street View operation
0 
Macao's Personal Data Protection Office Thursday said that it will not allow Internet giant Google to recommence the image collecting activities?for its Street View online services until the authorities find out if these activities breach the privacy law or not.
Google has recently made a request to the Personal Data Protection Office, asking to resume the image collecting operation in September this year with its data collecting cars, which will take four to six weeks to complete, according to the Office.
The Office also said that Google has also promised that its data collecting cars will not collect WiFi data in the process, which has occurred before. But the Office has turned down Google's request since it is still investigating the legitimacy of Google's image collecting activities.
Being an additional online service to the Google maps, the ambitious project allows users to see 360 degree views of a street with just a click on the maps. However, the project was also dogged by doubts of privacy infringement, and Google has issued a public apology in May this year, admitting that the data collecting cars it used to scan the streets in various cities of the world accidentally received private data.
Google's controversial Street View program has prompted governments worldwide to launch investigation into its image collecting operation.
The Personal Data Protection Office has carried out investigation into Google's activities after similar moves were adopted by neighboring Hong Kong authorities earlier this year.
