Google Street View cleared by privacy watchdog

updated 10:55 a.m. ET April 23, 2009

LONDON - Britain's privacy watchdog says Google Street View should not be removed or shut down.

The Information Commissioner's Office rejected a complaint Thursday by London-based human rights group Privacy International which had argued that Google's high-quality photos of houses and streets breached people's privacy.

The ICO says it would not be in the public interest to remove the service in a world "where many people Tweet, Facebook and blog."

The agency says it received 74 complaints and inquiries about Street View but argued it caused little privacy intrusion.

Google obscures individuals' faces and car license plates by pixelation and removes images on request.

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