Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/Google
Google must pay $3,000 to a Brazilian woman whose face was revealed on Street View, a feature bundled with Google Maps and available on mobile devices and the web.
Street View offers access to street-level imagery captured by cameras installed on cars, bicycles, or backpacks carried by Google contractors. The search giant puts all images together and provides Internet users with exploration options for any location in the world, promising to protect privacy by blurring people's faces and car registration plates.
However, the privacy protections don't always work as expected, and a 61-year-old woman decided to move a dispute with the company to the court after she failed to have her face blurred on Google Maps' Street View.
The woman appeared in the photos captured by the Google Maps cars and could be seen in front of the house in Sao Paulo where she was working as a cleaner. Anyone using Street View was able to explore the location and see the woman's face, which Google failed to blur for an undisclosed reason.
The woman says she contacted the company two times to request the removal of the image, but Google did not respond. When she filed the lawsuit, Google promptly blurred the photo, no longer exposing her face.
The Sao Paulo State Court of Justice ordered Google to pay $3,000 for moral damages, acknowledging that while Google Maps' Street View is a valuable tool for Internet users, the service must respect people's privacy. According to the local media, Judge Enio Zuliani emphasized that Google must not post photos on Street View that allow netizens to identify the persons on the street.
Google hasn't released a statement on the case, so it's unclear why the automatic blurring technology didn’t work and why the company did not take action when the woman contacted the company.
According to Google's privacy policy, users have the right to report a photo or request it to be blurred if it contains their faces, homes, or other identifying information. The company offers a dedicated form for such requests, explaining that it "reviews your report as fast as we can."
Google isn't the only company offering street-level imagery in its navigation app. Apple has also developed a similar service called Look Around and bundled with Apple Maps. The Street View alternative is particularly focused on high-resolution images. Its availability is still limited, but expanding Look Around has become one of Apple's top priorities, especially as the company is working around the clock on turning Apple Maps into a more powerful Google Maps rival. Apple also uses automatic blurring technology for the images appearing on Look Around, with people's faces and license plates hidden before a photo makes its way online.
However, the privacy protections don't always work as expected, and a 61-year-old woman decided to move a dispute with the company to the court after she failed to have her face blurred on Google Maps' Street View.
The woman appeared in the photos captured by the Google Maps cars and could be seen in front of the house in Sao Paulo where she was working as a cleaner. Anyone using Street View was able to explore the location and see the woman's face, which Google failed to blur for an undisclosed reason.
The woman says she contacted the company two times to request the removal of the image, but Google did not respond. When she filed the lawsuit, Google promptly blurred the photo, no longer exposing her face.
The Sao Paulo State Court of Justice ordered Google to pay $3,000 for moral damages, acknowledging that while Google Maps' Street View is a valuable tool for Internet users, the service must respect people's privacy. According to the local media, Judge Enio Zuliani emphasized that Google must not post photos on Street View that allow netizens to identify the persons on the street.
Google hasn't released a statement on the case, so it's unclear why the automatic blurring technology didn’t work and why the company did not take action when the woman contacted the company.
According to Google's privacy policy, users have the right to report a photo or request it to be blurred if it contains their faces, homes, or other identifying information. The company offers a dedicated form for such requests, explaining that it "reviews your report as fast as we can."
Google isn't the only company offering street-level imagery in its navigation app. Apple has also developed a similar service called Look Around and bundled with Apple Maps. The Street View alternative is particularly focused on high-resolution images. Its availability is still limited, but expanding Look Around has become one of Apple's top priorities, especially as the company is working around the clock on turning Apple Maps into a more powerful Google Maps rival. Apple also uses automatic blurring technology for the images appearing on Look Around, with people's faces and license plates hidden before a photo makes its way online.
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