Google pays $1.4M to the Italian Privacy Regulator over Street View cars marking: (Note: The actual fine in local currency is €1M)

This time round, it was all about the vehicles’ appearance – people complained that the Street View cars were not sufficiently identifiable, so they didn’t know when the photography was in action.

and

Personally, I don’t think cases like this merit anything close to a fine of that size. When it comes down to it, the Street View cars only photograph what anyone can see standing on the relevant street.

I beg to differ, privacy is still important. There is a need to stop what companies can or cannot do with our consent. If someone is taking a picture of me I want to be notified about it or at least aware of it.

My brother actually appears in a Google Street image. While initially that seemed like fun, it is annoying that his blurred image is forever stored on a company’s servers.

Google should employs Apple’s Map 3D rendering.