It's official. Every new street level map view service has to capture an image of EFF staff attorney Kevin Bankston sneaking a cigarette.
Amazon's now-defunct A9 service first nailed Bankston outside EFF's San Francisco office a few years ago. He'd been trying conceal his smoking from his family.
These days Bankston uses that anecdote as a weapon in his principled but quixotic campaign against Google's new Street View service. Bankston argues Street View is legal, but irresponsible, and should include facial obfuscation technology so every face is blurred or made to resemble the mush-visaged demons from Jacobs Ladder.
But after the A9 incident, Bankston thought he'd personally escaped the same treatment from Street View, which shows nobody at all standing outside EFF headquarters. Imagine my delight when, looking for directions in the Mission this weekend, I stumbled upon this picture of someone resembling Bankston a few blocks away from EFF.
It turns out he's walking to work. I showed it to Bankston at a party Sunday, and he confirmed it was him with a howl of disbelief mixed with ironic laughter. "I can't believe they got me again!" Then he snuck out for a smoke.
Follow-up:
Want Off Street View? Google Wants Your ID and A Sworn Statement - Update: Google Cuts Red Tape
Previously:
