Google sued over Street View

[CoffeeShark]

In what I'd call a VERY dubious claim, a homeowner has sued Google over pictures of their residence on the Street View portion of Google Maps.

Coffee Street:

Basically, they're pissed because they think Google drove up their driveway to get a picture of their home on their precious "private driveway".

They ignore that they can get the picture removed if they ask Google, and instead file a lawsuit to get some cash.

Sounds like something that could've been resolved with a simple request, and makes the lawsuit a more obvious money-grab rather than a true concern.

Does Google "invade privacy" with Street View?

[Tao]

This suit, like many against large corporations by single entities (AKA mom and pop), reeks of frivolity.


I like Yu's response though: "It is unfortunate litigation was chosen to address the concern because we have visible tools, such as a YouTube video, to help people learn about imagery removal and an easy-to-use process to facilitate image removal."

Let's see:

Violation of privacy: maybe.
Devaluation of property: difficult to prove.
Mental suffering: also difficult to prove.

Some people are just idiots. Like those that choose litigation over learning-from-mistakes when they spill hot McDonalds coffee on their lap.

EDIT: "Does GOOG invade privacy with street view?

I would say it depends. Take these people with their private road as an example. Yes they had an expectation of privacy. However, I believe it is surely not on par with the level of expectation they would have WITHIN their home or on a phone conversation. It's not the same type of violation.

[Pale.Rider]

I think filing a civil law suit against Google is just as retarded as Google taking photos and trespassing without permission. Both parties are wrong IMO.

[J-Mix]

how do you get a street view, i can't figure it out.

[Dopefish]

Anything in the public is open to take pictures of.

I remember there was a case in Seattle (I think that was the state) where a man was arrested for taking pictures up womens' skirts. Although the court didn't like what the guy was doing, they said he had broken no laws. They basically said that when you're in the public, you have no right to privacy. Those women chose to wore the skirts in public, and if the guy takes pictures of it, oh well, they shouldn't have worn skirts then.

If Google had to trespass to take these pictures, that's something else, but just driving down the street and taking pictures is no violation. I think this will quickly get dismissed from court.

Also, if I remember correctly (in California, at least), the sidewalk is public property and your driveway is, as well (since it's connected to the street). So even if they were walking on the sidewalk and taking pictures, they still weren't trespassing on the property.

[Craig]

Doesnt google hire people to ride around the country in these fancy little cars outfitted with cameras, GPS and whatnot to get all these shots? come to think of it, that's pretty much what I do for a living without the cameras :-/

[LaMercYellowDog]

"My View"

Well, I have a 550 driveway that is closed off by a gate about 200 feet in... if for instance I find a picture of my driveway past the gate on Google, then yes that is an invasion of privacy, and trespassing. However if the same view was taken from the Highway my drive exits onto, the only real problem I would have with that is having it removed... since I don't want a picture of my home found in a public directory.

I have an unlisted phone number and address for a "reason". Having Google place it on their site would be a violation of my personal rights... since they did not ask permission to list my home in their Map Directory.

P.S. Be careful how much of your liberty, and privacy you allow a big corporation to take advantage of or invade... you may find one day this same information is used to violate other liberties you once possessed.

[LaMercYellowDog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig

Doesnt google hire people to ride around the country in these fancy little cars outfitted with cameras, GPS and whatnot to get all these shots? come to think of it, that's pretty much what I do for a living without the cameras :-/

Craig what do you do? Work for Home Land invasion... I mean security... LOL

[akabaloo]

Seriously, who cares? Google has a picture of your house, oh noes! The only people who might know about it are the people who already know your address. Are terrorists going to look your address up on google maps and devise a plan to take over your house? I doubt it

[DNvCross]

I think it's funny that you can see into my neighbor's window on google streetview. However, even if you could see into my own window, I don't think I'd even have the picture removed.