Yurt
04-05-2008, 01:15 PM
Pa. couple says Google 'Street View' pictures violated privacy
04-04) 16:01 PDT Pittsburgh (AP) --
A western Pennsylvania couple sued Google Inc., saying pictures of their home that appear on the Web site's "Street View" feature violated their privacy, devalued their property and caused them mental suffering.
Aaron and Christine Boring bought the home in Franklin Park, a Pittsburgh suburb, in October 2006 for a "considerable sum of money," according to their 10-page lawsuit filed Wednesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.
"A major component of their purchase decision was a desire for privacy," the lawsuit said.
The suit targets the Mountain View, Calif., company over images on its Web site, which allows users to find street-level photos by clicking on a map. To gather the photos, Google uses vehicles with mounted digital cameras to take pictures up and down the streets of major metropolitan areas.
The Borings say the images of their home on the Google site had to be taken from their long driveway, labeled "Private Road," and that violated their privacy.
"There's no merit to this action," Google spokesman Larry Yu said. "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."
...
"Isn't litigation the only way to change a big business' conduct with the public?" Moskal said. "What happened to their accountability?"
interesting (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/04/04/financial/f131545D52.DTL)
its amazing what people use the legal system for...there is no way they will win
04-04) 16:01 PDT Pittsburgh (AP) --
A western Pennsylvania couple sued Google Inc., saying pictures of their home that appear on the Web site's "Street View" feature violated their privacy, devalued their property and caused them mental suffering.
Aaron and Christine Boring bought the home in Franklin Park, a Pittsburgh suburb, in October 2006 for a "considerable sum of money," according to their 10-page lawsuit filed Wednesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.
"A major component of their purchase decision was a desire for privacy," the lawsuit said.
The suit targets the Mountain View, Calif., company over images on its Web site, which allows users to find street-level photos by clicking on a map. To gather the photos, Google uses vehicles with mounted digital cameras to take pictures up and down the streets of major metropolitan areas.
The Borings say the images of their home on the Google site had to be taken from their long driveway, labeled "Private Road," and that violated their privacy.
"There's no merit to this action," Google spokesman Larry Yu said. "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."
...
"Isn't litigation the only way to change a big business' conduct with the public?" Moskal said. "What happened to their accountability?"
interesting (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/04/04/financial/f131545D52.DTL)
its amazing what people use the legal system for...there is no way they will win