People In Scuba Gear Chase Google Street View Car With Pitchforks (PHOTOS)

UPDATE 2/11/2010: HuffPost Tech readers have written in to tell us a bit more about what went on with this pitchfork run-in with the Google Street View car.

Christine A. and commenter Norwegian Dude (see below) tell us that the two suba-wearing pranksters knew the driver of the car, and did it as a prank. Check out an interview with them here (in Norwegian).

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Anti-Google sentiment has been on the rise in Europe, and so have pranks on Google.

We recently wrote about a group of pantless Germans who pranked the Google Steet View car by flashing it when it drove by.

Now it seems that more mischief-makers--this time from Norway--are causing a ruckus.

Two Norwegians dressed in scuba gear ambushed a Google Street View car when it passed them in Bergen, Norway.

As the series of pictures below demonstrate, the duo waited on lawn chairs, then, when the Google Street View car finally puttered by, got up and chased after the car (and camera) while waving a pitchfork in the air.

Story continues below

The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten reported on the Google car fracas. (Read the auto-translated version here.)

It's not clear from the newspaper report what motivated the pitchfork ambush, although it coincides with growing distrust in Europe for Google. Privacy advocates, concerned citizens, and even government officials have expressed concern with Google Street View, which they believe may violate privacy rights. As NBC reports, 'The European Union wants Google to notify citizens of its 27 member states before it takes a picture of them or their property.'

See the drysuit-wearing camera assailants on Google Maps, or check out pictures in the slideshow below.

(via Boing Boing)

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Comments

[patrickmcdougal]

street view has made my life of campaign organizing so much better,
One thing I was able to check out rentals and the neighborhoods in Boston while I was still packing in Flint.
Second being able to put together affective door campaigns without having to drive around prior is awesome.

[jellypoo]

The next thing: Google and their Norwegian competition take pictures of each other:
http://forbruker.no/digital/article3513505.ece#xtor=RSS-3
Funny, and somewhat grotesque thing. There is room for local competition in this sparsely populated country because people live in the weirdest places, far, far away from what would be civilisation elsewhere. So Google ends up provided to bad a map service for those, in addition, the competition is being used in property sales with combined property/map-service. $$$!

[hagagaga]

That's actually a fishing spear, not a pitchfork.

[houstonbch]

maybe if they weren't driving around in a bright red car with "GOOGLE" on the side they might be less obvious. too funny

[LanceLee]

That is very funny.

[realitytrumpsbull]

The Google IS Big Brother...

[NorwegianDude]

I had to register just to comment.

The two scuba-dudes knew the driver of the car and they did it as a prank.
They have been interviewed by my(and their) local newspaper about it, and a follow up interview after you posted about it here!

Here you have the first interview with the crappy autotranslator:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bt.no%2Fnyheter%2Flokalt%2FHer-er-spoekefuglene-1023735.html

[Memphis Blues Again]

Haha! This rules. I don't know why, but it does.

[PlayTOE]

Fab prank on google street view.
Luv the flippers & fishing spear ...

[Cryostatic]

Has anyone talked to the Norwegians in question? I doubt they were just hanging about in wetsuits waiting for a Google car to come by. I'm curious to know what they were doing there.

[shimari]

It's OBVIOUS what they were doing there -- lying in wait for an epic battle with Poseidon!

[ummeli]

Really? I figured they were hunting for food. When the Google van drove by they mistook it for prey.

It makes you question these scuba divers' judgment. I don't care how long you boil a van, it's never going to be soft enough to eat.

[PostModernPatriot]

Wow, I heart Europeans, they are not just sheep like we are.

[edejan]

Agreed and fanned.

[TruEngineHearing]

If EU folk want to decline to join the transparent world, then they're off the map - whoosh, gone.

[thelebrity]

You join the world. Then you'd know that Norway is not an EU member.

[TruEngineHearing]

...my bad. I am corrected.

[Jason Clark]

Google street view..... the next hype in reality entertainment!

[Robert Pickett Burnside]

it'll be funnier when they throw Molotov cocktails

[washlib]

haha thats friggen great!