Have you ever seen the Google Street View car pass by your street? There have been several unexpected images captured and shown to the world through the Google Maps website. This was the case of a police officer from Bragado, a city in Argentina in the Province of Buenos Aires, who was caught by Google’s cameras completely naked in his home. The man, who received humiliation and mockery from the local press and even from his neighbors, reported this incident to the National Civil Court, which dismissed it, arguing that the man was turned away, making identification difficult, and that what happened was the plaintiff’s responsibility.
However, 3 years later, in 2020, the National Civil Appeals Chamber ultimately ruled in his favor, arguing that his right to privacy had been violated and requiring Google to compensate him for moral damages with $2,400 (3 million Argentine pesos). It was determined that this was a completely foreseeable damage on the part of Google, as the image could not only have been omitted, but could have been pixelated as has happened countless times, in order to preserve the identity of the affected individual.
Google Street View
The Street View vehicles are cars, snowmobiles, or bicycles equipped with cameras that capture panoramic images in 360º, in order to reconstruct the route being taken in images. These images are used to create the Street View feature of Google Maps. It is one of the functionalities of this application so users can navigate virtually through the streets of the world without the need to leave their homes.
Although it is a useful tool for travel planning, exploring the world, or discovering hard-to-reach places, it also has its downsides. In images where faces, children, or personal information can be seen, Google pixels that area of the image to avoid violating citizens’ privacy. However, sometimes this is not the case, and it can get into trouble.
An unwanted overview
Someone who will surely never use Google Street View again is a man from the city of Bragado, in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a well-known man in the community who worked as a police officer, and he was captured in Google’s images from behind and completely naked. The images spread like wildfire throughout the city, even being published in local media under the title ‘The Bragadian Pearls of Google Street View.’ The embarrassment and humiliation he felt were so great that the man socially isolated himself. However, he did not stand idly by and reported Google, claiming that his privacy had been violated and that they should compensate him for moral damages.
What did justice say?
After taking legal action against Google and the media outlet that spread the images, the response from the justice system was not encouraging at all. The National Court ruled against the plaintiff, arguing that since he was facing away, he could not be identified, and that responsibility was his own due to the attitude he displayed. The judge added that the image was taken from the street, which is a public space, and that the area of his house is visible from the street.
After appealing to the National Chamber of Appeals in Civil Matters, the initial decision was overturned, stating that it was an ‘arbitrary intrusion into privacy.’ It was explained that although the photo was taken from the street, it did violate the plaintiff’s privacy. Moreover, even though he was facing away, his house was perfectly recognizable, even to the extent of seeing the house number.
How did it end?
The judge determined that Google could have avoided the situation by not disseminating the images, as it does in other cases. Therefore, the company had to assume responsibility and compensate the affected party for moral damages, with an amount of $2,400 (3 million Argentine pesos). In this way, the issue was settled, but at the same time, a social debate was opened; can one not do what they consider within their home for fear of being recorded or photographed from the outside?