Latest news with #Google-contributed
NDTV
28-07-2025
- NDTV
Man Awarded Rs 11 lakh After Google Street View Car Clicked Him Naked
Google has been forced to pay approximately Rs 10.8 lakh ($12,500) to an Argentine man after he was photographed completely naked in his backyard by a Google Street View car. The man argued in court that his dignity was harmed by the internet giant despite him being behind a 6-foot-6 wall, in a small Argentine town in 2017. The man, a police officer by profession, claimed the invasion exposed him to ridicule at work and among his neighbours, according to a report in CBS News. While his bare behind was splashed on the internet for everyone to see, Google did not even blur his house number and street name, which were clearly visible in the image. He sued Google in 2019, but a lower court initially dismissed the case, faulting the man for being outside in an "inappropriate condition". However, an appeals panel reversed that decision this month. Google, in its defence, claimed that the perimeter wall was not high enough. "This involves an image of a person not captured in a public space, but within the confines of their home, behind a fence taller than the average-sized person," the court observed, adding: "The invasion of blatant." Awarding the sum in compensation, the court said: "No one wants to appear exposed to the world as the day they were born." Google's blurring policy The court also cited Google's policy of automatically blurring faces and license plates as evidence that it was aware of a duty to avoid harm to third parties. However, in this case, the man's "entire naked body" was visible, the judges said, and the image should have been flagged. "We have developed cutting-edge face and license plate blurring technology that is designed to blur identifiable faces and license plates within Google-contributed imagery in Street View," Google's website about its Street View policy states. The company adds that "if you would like us to blur your entire house, car, or body, submit a request using the 'Report a problem' tool."
CBS News
25-07-2025
- CBS News
Man awarded $12,500 after Google Street View camera captured him naked in his yard in Argentina
An Argentine captured naked in his yard by a Google Street View camera has been awarded compensation by a court after his bare behind was splashed over the internet for all to see. The policeman had sought payment from the internet giant for harm to his dignity, arguing he was behind a 6 1/2-foot wall when a Google camera captured him in the buff, from behind, in small-town Argentina in 2017. His house number and street name were also laid bare, broadcast on Argentine TV covering the story, and shared widely on social media. The man claimed the invasion exposed him to ridicule at work and among his neighbors. Another court last year dismissed the man's claim for damages, ruling he only had himself to blame for "walking around in inappropriate conditions in the garden of his home." Google, for its part, claimed the perimeter wall was not high enough. Appeals judges, however, concluded the man's dignity had been flagrantly violated, and awarded him an amount in Argentine pesos equivalent to about $12,500, payable by Google. "This involves an image of a person that was not captured in a public space but within the confines of their home, behind a fence taller than the average-sized person. The invasion of privacy... is blatant," they wrote. The judges said "there is no doubt that in this case there was an arbitrary intrusion into another's life." And they found there was "no justification for (Google) to evade responsibility for this serious error that involved an intrusion into the plaintiff's house, within his private domain, undermining his dignity. "No one wants to appear exposed to the world as the day they were born." The judges pointed to Google's policy of blurring the faces and license plates of people and vehicles photographed for Street View as evidence it was aware of a duty to avoid harm to third parties. But in this case, "it was not his face that was visible but his entire naked body, an image that should also have been prevented." The court absolved co-accused telecoms company Cablevision SA and news site El Censor of liability for the image spreading, saying their actions had "helped highlight the misstep committed by Google." On a website about its Street View policy, Google says it has implemented measures to protect the privacy of people when images is published to Google Maps. "We have developed cutting-edge face and license plate blurring technology that is designed to blur identifiable faces and license plates within Google-contributed imagery in Street View," Google says. The company adds that "if you would like us to blur your entire house, car, or body, submit a request using the "Report a problem" tool." In 2019, Google reportedly agreed to pay a $13 million settlement over the company's collection of people's private information through its Street View project. In 2010, Google acknowledged that it trespassed when it took a photo of a Pittsburgh-area house for its Street View service, but only paid $1 in damages to a couple who sued.
