The Czech Republic on Wednesday banned Google from expanding its Street View mapping service in the country, citing privacy concerns.
Igor Nemec, chairman of the Czech Office for Personal Data Protection (DPA), said in a press conference that Street View "disproportionately invades citizens' privacy," The Guardian reported.
The DPA has been investigating Street View since April; the product launched in Prague in October 2009.
The Czechs first refused Google's Street View request last week, though Google said at the time that it hoped any issues would be solved "in the near future." The DPA apparently has not had a change of heart. Nemec told Google he is particularly concerned about the height of the Street View cameras, which he said can peak "over the fence."
In a statement, Google said it was "disappointed with this outcome," but pledged to "continue to engage in constructive dialogue with the DPA to answer any other questions they have."
"Street View has proved a popular and useful tool for consumers and businesses around the world and we look forward to finding a solution to bring additional imagery to people in Czech Republic," Google said.
On the camera height issue, Google said it designed its cameras in order to take the best photos of buildings, street signs, and other useful things while not invading peoples' privacy. Lowering the height would mean the camera is closer to the heads of pedestrians.
"That's something we'd rather avoid because [Street View] is about buildings and streets not faces," Google said. "So we make it just high enough to ensure we avoid obstacles which might make it a less useful tool to users - like being blocked by a van or lorry but not so high that it can see over people's fences."
Google also said it was testing a new camera technology that would "continue to protect privacy whilst ensuring the images we collect are as useful as possible," but it did not elaborate.
Google said it has seen a 35 percent increase in Google Maps usage since the launch of Street View in the Czech Republic, and pointed to a recent STEM/MARK report that found a majority of people believe Street View privacy protections are sufficient.
Street View also got the attention of German data protection officials last month when Google announced plans to extend Street View in the country by year's end. Google plans to have Street View available in 20 German cities, including Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Nuremburg, and Düsseldorf, but Hamburg's commissioner for data protection and freedom of information said at the time that he did not believe Google provided enough time for user's to opt out of having their location photographed.