14 DAY TRIAL // Google Street View just launched in a few more places, Brazil, Ireland and Antarctica. Users flogging to view the new imagery, though, got to see more than cute penguins and not in a good way.
Images of two bodies were spotted, one in Rio de Janeiro and the other in Belo Horizonte. The bodies were partially covered, but the images were still pretty disturbing.
Google has moved quickly and the images have been removed. The images have now been replaced by a black screen, like Google always does with offending Street View imagery.
"We take issues around inappropriate content in our products very seriously, and we removed the images quickly after being notified. For us, privacy and user choice remain paramount," Google officially stated.
"This is why we have put in place tools so that if people see what they believe to be inappropriate, they can report them to us using the simple tools and the images will be promptly removed," it added.
Brazil does have a rather high homicide rate which would explain the images perhaps and the spotlight of the launch meant that a lot of people were visiting the site. Of course, most of the photos had not been seen by anyone before going live.
Most likely, the worse has already surfaced so it's probably safe to browse the Brazilian version of Street View, as safe as anywhere else at least.
In any case, Google has a system set up to handle inappropriate images and offending ones are usually taken down within hours of being reported, as was the case now.
With the amount of imagery Google collects for Street View, it is inevitable that inappropriate or downright disturbing images pop up on occasion.
Google can't screen all of the images manually and an automated system, like the one the company employs, while getting a lot better at detecting faces and number plates and blurring them, can't understand the context that would make some images inappropriate.