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A little privacy, please. Google Maps blurs faces of Langley statues

Tech giant has a policy of blurring people’s faces and licence plates
Black Press Media
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Google Maps blurred the face of the statue on the right but not the one on the left. From another angle, both faces are blurred. (Google Maps screen grab)

Google Maps blurs human faces as a privacy protection measure, but it appears the tech giant’s program can’t tell the difference between human and non-human faces.

Langley’s wooden statues by the late carver Pete Ryan have their faces blurred out on Google Maps StreetView. Ryan lived in Hope and created wood chainsaw sculptures for other communities, including a seated Sasquatch which also has a blurred face in Google StreetView.

• READ MORE: Sasquatch statue censored in Harrison Hot Springs

According to StreetView’s policies, a program automatically blurs identifiable licence plate numbers and faces. There is a link that allows users to report items for additional blurring for online privacy reasons – whether it’s a car, house or person.

The Google algorithms have also started blurring dog faces.

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Have a story tip? Email: heather.colpitts@langleyadvancetimes.com
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Pete Ryan made various wooden sculptures around the community, including this one by Langley City hall. Google blurs human faces and licence plates in its map program and apparently also blurs some non-human faces. (Google Maps screen grab)
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Google Maps blurs faces to protect people’s privacy but the program also seems to blur faces of statues, like this prospector near Kwantlen Polytechnic University. (Google Maps screen grab)