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Bern, Switzerland (20 Minutes and Le Nouvelliste, Fre) – Google street view, the internet giant’s street level photos of cities around the world, will have to ensure the privacy of persons and property in Switzerland by obtaining permission from anyone photographed, before publishing images, the federal data protection and information commissioner (FDPIC) said on Swiss German tv show 10 vor 10, 15 June. Hans-Peter Thuer, the commissioner, said he would check up on Google to make sure they comply. People have been caught in compromising situations by the “street view vans”, according to Britain’s Sun newspaper.

Google told RSR, Swiss public radio, at the end of May 2009 that it had begun photographing some Swiss cities, but no images have appeared on line to date. Thuer said in May that Google will need to alert cities and communes in advance that it is planning to take photos and to let them know where, what streets.