Is it legal to take and publish pictures in publicly accessible residential areas?

Question

I'm thinking of doing something similar to Google Maps Street View, but focused on covering as many roads as possible in one local area, rather than major roads in as wide of an area as possible. Is it legal for a regular citizen to do this, or does Google have some kind of special license?

Answer 1

In the US generally, one may take and publish pictures of anything that can be seen from a public street, or any other place where the photographer may lawfully be. There are exceptions for military bases, and in some states there may be exceptions for photos that show the inside of a private residence (through a window, say) in detail, as if the photo was focused on such an interior. There may also be restrictions on things photographed with a telephoto lens or similar equipment, that would not have been visible to the unaided human eye from the place where the picture was taken.

Also, if an image is focused on a publicly visible work of art (other than a building or part of a building) there may be copyright issues. But works showing a work of art as part of the background of a general scene normally have no need for permission from the copyright holder.

People have no "legitimate expectation of privacy" on a public street or sidewalk. So there is no legal obligation to blur faces or license plates, but it might be good practice to do so. You may not use a person's face or image to advertise your project (or anything else) without permission from that person in many states. Note that the rules are significantly different in the EU, where the GDPR applies.