Swiss privacy watchdog takes Google to court over Street View

Hanspeter Thuer, Switzerland's Federal Data Protection Commissioner, said he was especially concerned about persons and cars being shown on Street View, particularly outside sensitive locations such as hospitals, prisons or schools.

The Street View application allows people to view street-level photographs over the Internet and already has been criticized in Europe for allowing individuals to be identified without their knowledge or consent - potentially exposing embarrassing facts about their private lives to the world.

Thuer wants Google to ensure that all faces and car license plates are blurred, remove pictures of enclosed areas such as walled gardens and private streets, and declare at least one week in advance which town and cities it plans to photograph and post online.

The Commissioner said Google had refused to implement the majority of measures recommended to improve its application to protect Switzerland's strict tradition of personal privacy as he had requested in September.

"As a result, the FDPIC is now taking the matter to the Federal Administrative Court," Thuer said.

Thuer has asked the court to require Google to remove all photographs taken in Switzerland and to cease taking any more photos in the country until a ruling is made.

In response, Google said it was disappointed by the prosecution.

The California-based search engine company believes Street View is legal and will "vigorously contest" the case, said Google's global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer.