German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday urged Germans who object to their homes being photographed to write protest letters to Google, but made clear she was not planning any legislation restricting the web search company, according to dpa. Germans have been divided about Google's Street View service, a nationwide collection of panorama photos of streetsides. Pictures taken by the Google camera cars in nearly 20 nations are available but the German images are not yet online. In her weekly podcast, Merkel said, "Those who find this an attack on their privacy can exercise their right to object. The minister of consumer affairs, Ilse Aigner, has pointed out how. The ministry has published a form letter to send. If you wish, use this service." Her remarks appeared to squash calls from Aigner for changes in the law to require US-based Google to seek advance written permission from every householder for their home to be photographed. Google has already taken its pictures, sending camera cars to the major urban areas. European web users massively prefer Google as their favourite search engine, and the company's advertising revenues in Europe are strong. Its prominence has spawned a powerful anti-Google reaction. The divide between privacy-first attitudes in Europe and free-speech-first attitudes in the United States seemed to be highlighted this week when an Italian court convicted three Google executives of failing to stop the posting of a video on bullying. The Street View launch in Germany has been delayed while Google meets a set of guidelines agreed with German state privacy commissioners. It has promised to take down pictures before the launch if a householder requests this in writing.
