As Google Street View launches in Germany, one very naked man apparently misgauged timing of those streetside images being captured. As a resident in the only country actually provided an “opt-out” option by Google—this German guy skipped the opt-out and the clothing. But he may have opted in to a bit of online infamy.
240,000 other Germans utilized Google Street View’s opt-out, the citizens refusing to have their residential homes shown on the Street View service. Germany’s Street View has just gone “live” for 20 German cities. This naked guy apparently forgot the idea that Google needed to snap images of the homes prior to its Street View launch.
Google Translate interprets to read, "Somewhere in Germany a Google camera car has photographed this strange situation.”
It remains unclear as to what this photographed, naked man was actually doing in his trunk—though it doesn’t appear to be anything out of the ordinary, per the sleeping dog nearby.
Germans have already been critical and wary of Google and its Street View service--the country finally allowing Google to enter its residential territory after much debate and strong government pressure: as part of the barter, Germany is the only country where Google has allowed citizens to actually request that images of their homes be deleted from the Street View project, prior to the service’s November 2010 launch.
Not only did the naked guy miss the opt-out, he may also be stuck with the permanent resulting image.
At the heart of the privacy debate, German politicians have been criticizing Google for what it sees as a trampling of citizens’ rights. The idea has been that residents of the German country are alarmed that Google’s "Street View" could help strangers find them in their homes.
Or, it could just help strangers see you naked outside of your home.