Photo: www.dailymail.co.uk
Google’s Street View program is offering any person out there the chance to virtually visit places most of us will probably never get to, such as the Pyramids in Egypt, one of the world’s biggest cruise ships and even the dessert itself. But like any good thing out there, Google's Street View also comes with its flows, which in this case is related to people's privacy.
Street View program is known for a lot of really cool things, from offering us the chance to virtually visit unique places to its utility features such as finding a place we’re looking for on the map. But with any service that implies taking footage of the surroundings there’s the inevitable that comes with it, which is privacy. It’s not the first time the discussion is made public, but this example could stand for a risky precedent.
The photo was taken by one of the Google’s popular camera-equipped cars. The woman claims people would still identify her which is why she decided to sue the company. The legal battle started in 2011 and she asked Google to blur the rest of her, as well as her license plate and address. She also asked for $45,000 for emotional damage, including depression and mockery from her co-workers.
It might look like a small deal, but it could also make for a precedent that would make others who went through similar situations ask for more.
She found herself pictured in a awkward position
After looking it up on Google Street View, Maria Pia Grillo from Montreal, Canada stumbled upon an image of herself sitting in front of her house. Even though her face was blurred, she claimed she got embarrassed by the fact the images they’d used featured her sitting outside the property with “part of her breast exposed.”The photo was taken by one of the Google’s popular camera-equipped cars. The woman claims people would still identify her which is why she decided to sue the company. The legal battle started in 2011 and she asked Google to blur the rest of her, as well as her license plate and address. She also asked for $45,000 for emotional damage, including depression and mockery from her co-workers.
Google agreed to blur everything, but not to pay the money
Eventually they agreed to blur out more of the image, but rejected the financial compensation. The Montreal judge did have a different opinion, as he rejected the company’s public place defense and said people do not forfeit their privacy rights simply by being in a location where others can see them. Google was ordered to pay her $2,250 plus interest and an additional $159 in court costs.It might look like a small deal, but it could also make for a precedent that would make others who went through similar situations ask for more.
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