You say it's entirely legal, and it may be. But here in NYC, if someone is shooting professionally, and/or for money, they're required to be permitted by the city. You're generally also required to have model releases for anyone visible in any image published for professional or monetary gain (though that gets fuzzy), even moreso for those under 18. In other parts of the world, even personal photography is heavily monitored (in England and Italy it is illegal to shoot in public parks, because of child predator fears). So if Google's cars aren't licensed in the cities they're shooting, there could be at least civil difficulties. That said, I have no problem with them running around compiling images on public streets. If they catch me doing something I shouldn't, it's my own fault.
You say it's entirely legal, and it may be. But here in NYC, if someone is shooting professionally, and/or for money, they're required to be permitted by the city. You're generally also required to have model releases for anyone visible in any image published for professional or monetary gain (though that gets fuzzy), even moreso for those under 18. In other parts of the world, even personal photography is heavily monitored (in England and Italy it is illegal to shoot in public parks, because of child predator fears).
So if Google's cars aren't licensed in the cities they're shooting, there could be at least civil difficulties.
That said, I have no problem with them running around compiling images on public streets. If they catch me doing something I shouldn't, it's my own fault.