Czechs Say “Zastavit” To Google StreetView

Zastavit means stop or halt. And that’s what the Czech government has told Google regarding StreetView image collection in the central European country. The stated reason, according to the Czech Office for Personal Data Protection, is that Google did not have the required license/registration to conduct the activity.

It’s not the case that Google failed to apply, however, the Czech government has twice rejected Google’s application. Reportedly the Czechs had been investigating Google for WiFi related privacy breaches since April or May of this year.

It’s very likely the matter will be resolved and Google will be able to resume collecting images in the near future. There’s already quite a bit of StreetView photography for Prague, which is a beautiful city.

It’s actually in the Czech government’s interest to resolve the matter because it’s quite likely that StreetView promotes or at least supports tourism. There’s no firm evidence of that but I would guess it does.

If, or more likely when, the ITA acquistion is approved StreetView will be an integral part of any “Google Travel.”

Thanks to Gary Price for pointing us to the story.