"Privacy lawyers are waiting with bated breath to see what the privacy commissioner has to say about this, because it has implications far beyond Google Street View," Bowman said. "I think we're really at the beginning of this story, not the end." Canada's privacy laws require that a person being photographed give their consent to the pictures being published unless they are being taken for journalistic, literary or artistic purposes. However, in post-production, Google now subjects all photos to an automated process of blurring people's faces and licence plates. In addition, anyone can request specific images be removed from the site. "The privacy concerns could be pretty severe for some and people can still be identified, even with faces blurred out," Bowman said. "I'm not sure how Google is rationalizing compliance with Canadian law by service providers who are taking the pictures here."
Google is subjected to Canadian law.