ReadWriteWeb

The arrival of Google Street View in Germany has not been without controversy. Indeed, thousands of Germans decided to opt out of the program and asked Google to blur their houses. Faced with the issues, Google decided to roll this service out slowly in Germany, starting with one small town two weeks ago. Today, however, Google is bringing Street View to Germany's 20 largest cities, including Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Berlin.

Over the last few days, we have read a lot about how Wikipedia's new 'flagged revision' policy will radically change how entries about living persons will be maintained. Even mainstream media organizations like CNN have now picked up on this story, though there seems to be some confusion about the extent to which these new policies, once implemented, will change the nature of Wikipedia. According to some of these reports, Wikipedia will cease to be free and open. Instead, a group of editors with dictatorial powers will patrol the site. The reality, however, is far less dramatic.