Google “Street View” Privacy and Trespass Claims Dismissed
April 8, 2009
Charles D. "Chuck" Tobin- Washington
Google did not invade a Pittsburgh couple’s privacy or commit any other wrongdoing in posting photos of their home online, a federal judge has ruled.
Aaron and Christine Boring sued the search engine after photos of their home were included on Google’s unique “Street View” pages. Street View is a service launched two years ago on which Google posts 360-degree views at the street level of many U.S. cities. The pages permit visitors to take virtual walks through neighborhoods. They were created with images generated by Google drivers who passed through neighborhoods with digital panoramic cameras.
The Borings, who live on a private road in an upscale Pittsburgh suburb, sued Google alleging that the photos were taken without permission from their driveway. Their complaint in Boring v. Google, Inc., filed in the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Pennsylvania, alleged that the unpaved road they live on is posted with “Private Road” and “No Trespassing” signs. They sued Google for invasion of privacy, negligence, trespass and a variety of other claims.
Magistrate Judge Amy Reynolds Hay dismissed each of the Borings’ claims, finding that the Borings could not recover under any recognized legal theory. As to invasion of privacy, the judge held as a matter of law that Google had not intruded into the couple’s seclusion or published private information about them. She found that:
- A reasonable person would not find the posting of a photo of their home “substantial and highly offensive.” “While it is easy to imagine that many whose property appears on Google’s virtual maps resent the privacy implications, it is hard to believe that any – other than the most exquisitely sensitive – would suffer shame or humiliation.”
- The Borings did not protest the posting of images of their home on other websites.
- The couple took no measures to shield their address in filing this lawsuit.
- Finally, they have never asked Google to take down the photos despite a clear procedure on Street View that lets people ask for that.
Summarizing its reasoning in rejecting the privacy claim, the court noted that, “The Plaintiffs have done little to limit – and seem to have heightened intentionally – public interest in and access to the allegedly private information.” The court held the Borings also did not allege any duty owed to them that Google breached, as required for their negligence claim, and also failed to allege the interference with possession of their property, as is essential with a trespass claim.
Magistrate Judge Hay dismissed both the Borings’ claims for damages and an injunction, and found that any attempt the couple might make to amend their complaint would be futile.
For more information, contact:
Charles D. Tobin
202.419.2539
charles.tobin@hklaw.com
toll free: 1.888.688.8500
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