Microsoft yields to German privacy officials on Bing Streetside

Jun 9, 2011, 15:10 GMT

Berlin - Software company Microsoft yielded Thursday to German privacy officials who had demanded a delay in the launch of a version of the Bing Maps Streetside photo panorama service.

Microsoft agreed to offer opt-out rights in advance to tenants who object to their apartment buildings being shown in linked-up pictures of streetscapes.

Last year Google launched a similar service, Street View, with many gaps in the panoramas after more than 200,000 Germans demanded anonymity for their homes.

Germans will be allowed two months, from August to September, to register objections with Microsoft. In most other nations, people can only demand a Streetside image be deleted by finding it on the internet and marking it with a takedown request.

Microsoft had resisted advanced opt-outs, saying privacy commissioners were demanding more than German law or industry guidelines required.

Bavaria state's privacy commissioner, who led the talks, announced the accord.

'We're willing to compromise,' said Microsoft Germany executive Ralph Haupter.

The Microsoft camera cars began filming streets in Germany late last month.

Bitkom, Germany's federation of digital industries, criticized the privacy commissioners after the announcement, warning that their demands would be too onerous for smaller German companies offering competing geodata services.

Only giant companies could afford to administer advance opt-outs, Bitkom said.