Google Maps' Street View service sparked controversy on Thursday, when Internet users searching for an address spotted a naked woman in one of the pictures.
The picture quickly made the rounds as Internet users forwarded the message on a local bulletin board system (BBS), as well as the social networking sites Plurk.com and Facebook, telling Netizens to see what they could find by typing in a certain address in Hualien on the Google Maps site and loading the Street View picture for that address.
What appeared was an image of a naked woman with one of her legs hanging outside the second-floor window of a building.
While many people forwarded the message, others reported the matter to Google Taiwan, asking the company to fix it.
Google Maps had removed the picture by 12:30am yesterday.
Google Taiwan told the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) that all street view pictures in Taiwan are taken by street view camera cars that travel around randomly shooting street views. The company does not disclose where these vehicles go to avoid manipulation, it said.
There are five camera cars traveling around Taiwan, each with nine cameras on its roof to make sure they get a good shot at every corner, the Liberty Times reported.
Since the Street View service was launched in Taiwan last year, street views from 14 counties and cities can be seen online.
Commenting on the incident, Taiwan Association for Human Rights secretary-general Tsai Chi-hsun (蔡季勳) said that although this may not constitute a violation of privacy because the woman was in a public area, this is a good chance for the government as well as the public to reflect on how to better protect personal privacy and information at a time when so many innovative communication technologies are around.
“Some European counties require Google to ask for permission before taking Street View pictures,” Tsai said. “If we don’t start thinking about these kinds of issues soon, we could find ourselves in the middle of a very serious privacy crisis.”
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
RSS