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A couple in Pittsburgh whose lawsuit claimed that Street View on Google Maps is a reckless invasion of their privacy lost their case. Aaron and Christine Boring sued the Internet search giant last April, alleging that Google "significantly disregarded (their) privacy interests" when Street View cameras captured images of their house beyond signs marked "private road." The couple claimed in their five-count lawsuit that finding their home clearly visible on Google's Street View caused them "mental suffering" and diluted their home value. They sought more than $25,000 in damages and asked that the images of their home be taken off the site and destroyed. However, the U.S. District Court for Western Pennsylvania wasn't impressed by the suit and dismissed it (PDF) Tuesday, saying the Borings "failed to state a claim under any count." Ironically, the Borings subjected themselves to even more public exposure by filing the lawsuit, which included their home address. In addition, the Allegheny County's Office of Property Assessments included a photo of the home on its Web site. The Borings are not alone in their ire toward the Google Maps feature. As reported earlier, residents in California's Humboldt County complained that the drivers who are hired to collect the images are disregarding private property signs and driving up private roads. In January, a private Minnesota community near St. Paul, unhappy that images of its streets and homes appeared on the site, demanded Google remove the images, which the company did. However, Google claims to be legally allowed to photograph on private roads, arguing that privacy no longer exists in this age of satellite and aerial imagery. "Today's satellite-image technology means that...complete privacy does not exist," Google said in its response to the Borings' complaint Not long after the feature launched in May 2007, privacy advocates criticized Google for displaying photographs that included people's faces and car license

More than 50 per cent of internet users say they would be more interested in advertisements if they were tailored to their own interests, according to a new report from Q Interactive. Furthermore, another 50 per cent of respondents said they would view an advertiser favourably if they received personalised ads. Despite a number of obstacles that prevent marketers from obtaining too much personal information, 53 per cent of internet users would rather have free online services and insider information in exchange for relevant targeting data. However, 32 per cent of the respondents said they would accept worse service in exchange for privacy, and 15 per cent would prefer to pay for premium service and view no advertising whatsoever. Last year, a survey from Dynamic Markets on behalf of Coremetrics, found that half of UK consumers were happy for marketers to use behavioural targeting to track their online behaviour.

Likely a bit of bias in the survey, but indicitive that targeted ads are not going away. Like most things digital, doing it safely is important for consumers. - Karl More than 50 per cent of internet users say they would be more interested in advertisements if they were tailored to their own interests, according to a new report from Q Interactive. Furthermore, another 50 per cent of respondents said they would view an advertiser favourably if they received personalised ads. Despite a number of obstacles that prevent marketers from obtaining too much personal information, 53 per cent of internet users would rather have free online services and insider information in exchange for relevant targeting data. However, 32 per cent of the respondents said they would accept worse service in exchange for privacy, and 15 per cent would prefer to pay for premium service and view no advertising whatsoever. Last year, a survey from Dynamic Markets on behalf of Coremetrics, found that half of UK consumers were happy for marketers to use behavioural targeting to track their online behaviour.

Frontline video on eWaste, Computer Security On the outskirts of Ghana's biggest city sits a smoldering wasteland, a slum carved into the banks of the Korle Lagoon, one of the most polluted bodies of water on earth. The locals call it Sodom and Gomorrah. Correspondent Peter Klein and a group of graduate journalism students from the University of British Columbia have come here as part of a global investigation -- to track a shadowy industry that's causing big problems here and around the world. Their guide is a 13-year-old boy named Alex. He shows them his home, a small room in a mass of shanty dwellings, and offers to take them across a dead river to a notorious area called Agbogbloshie.