gpilling - 9:53 am on Mar 19, 2009 (gmt 0)

Top down images of private property, data of the type that is ONLY available by non-ordinary (drive-by, walk-by) effort is clearly the type of "data" that can give rise to non-ordinary concerns. I expect a level of privacy "from the street" - though I may not expect someone to photograph all the streets and publish that - but if I know that such action is forthcoming AND IF I am allowed to NOT participate - I can always elect to post a sign (please, not global photos) or tell Google "no" by contact form or to erect a visual barrier, such as a hedge.

Then what do you do about the aerial surveys? I needed a photo of some land I was building a house on in 1998. I called a local aerial survey company and they made me a very large print in a couple of days. $50 if I recall. They had the negatives on file, just waiting for someone to call. No proof that I owned the property was required - no restrictions at all.

Google Earth is just a higher tech version of photographs from the air which have been going on for 100 years.