Burapha University International Conference, BUU-2014

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The legal protection of right to privacy in case of “Google street view”: A comparative study of Thai and E.U. Laws.
Kanathip Thongraweewong

Last modified: 2014-06-10

Abstract


“Google street view” was released in 2007 as part of “Google maps which enables user to view real panoramic street-level imagery. The images are recorded by vehicles equipped with advanced imaging technology, driving down the road. The scope of images is expanded from cities in the U.S. to cover other countries. In EU level, the European Privacy Directive 95/46/EC is specifically enacted in EU level with the main objective to protect personal data. The EU member states are obliged to enact or amend their domestic laws in order to conform to the requirements relating to personal information of this directive. Specifically, the principles of this directive which can be applied to both the public and private sectors can be applied to regulate the practice of Google in recording individual’s image. The vital principles to protect privacy include “consent” which Google has to obtain and “notice” that Google has to give before collecting personal data. With regard to Thailand, the Google map application is currently available and major cities such as Bangkok can be viewed as part of virtual street scene. The images of real places including the details of individual can be found. As oppose to EU, Thailand provides no specific law to protect personal data. The only related law is “Official Information Act, B.E. 2540 (1997) which can merely regulate the collection and process of data in possession of state agency. Then, it cannot be applied in case of Google. Hence, this research aims to study content of EU laws and their application to Google street view in order to use it as a model law for the proposal to enact or amend Thai laws in order to protect Thai citizen from being recorded their images without consent and notice by Google street view.


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