I think it's not so much the case that Europeans oppose Google streetview while approving of bin microchipping and public surveilence, and more the case that we don't like any of it, but feel powerless to stop the government intrusions, so we focus on battles that we at least have some chance of winning, like Google streetview.
Somebody came up the idea and the people there allowed it to be implemented
UK politicians seem to have significant authoritarian leanings, little Hitlers abound in local government and the general public are too mild-mannered for their own good and too trusting of authority. There's also a large, politically active crowd of 'nothing to hide, nothing to fear', 'send the immigrants back', 'lets all live in a police state' types here, and government at a national and local level tends to be swayed by whoever has the biggest bug up their arse.
A lot of people might accept the privacy intrusions in the same way little Jimmy accepts that daddy has to apply the medicated ointment to his anus and rub it in with his cock each Wednesday evening while mum is away. We've been told over and over again that the CCTV, speed cameras, face recognition, deep packet inspection etc is making us safer and improving our lives, and that it's for our own good, even if we don't enjoy it. Most people seem to believe it, or only have occasional doubts that a particular speed trap is more for collecting fines than promoting safety, and don't question the function or efficacy of the rapidly expanding surveillance system as a whole, or recognise the danger that it poses.
