The controversies, which have surrounded Google StreetView ever since it has launched do not seem to end.

This time it is the turn of a small suburb in St. Paul Minnesota named North Oaks. North Oaks is a private city of 4,500 and the community is owned by its residents, even the streets are private property. The controversy started when Google Maps, ignoring the no trespassing signs, not only entered the property but also took shots of the entire community. This led North Oaks to demand from Google that they remove the images of their homes and also the locations that were shot from private streets.

There have been many such incidents including a recent one where a smaller private community than North Oaks had put postings on the terraces of their condos stating that it is privately held property and no trespassing is allowed.

The reactions to these incidents involving Google Maps StreetView have been mixed. A section of internet users are of the opinion that taking photographs and videos is not going to make much of a difference, whether it be from security angle or otherwise, whereas a few others feel it is simply a question of respecting privacy.