A court in Argentina has ordered Google to pay around $12,500 (roughly ₱711,000) in damages after one of its Street View cameras captured an image of a man standing naked in his yard, a violation judges called a clear intrusion into his private life.
The man, a police officer, was photographed in the nude from behind in the garden of his home in 2017. Despite being behind a two-meter wall, the image showed his bare body, along with his address details, which later spread online and was even aired on Argentine television.
The court rejected Google’s argument that the wall was too low to block the view, instead siding with the officer, who claimed the photo harmed his dignity and subjected him to ridicule from colleagues and neighbors.
“This involves an image of a person that was not captured in a public space but within the confines of their home,” the judges emphasized in their ruling, calling the invasion of privacy “blatant.”
They further stated that “no one wants to appear exposed to the world as the day they were born,” and highlighted Google’s own Street View policy of blurring faces and license plates as proof that it acknowledges a duty to protect individuals’ privacy.
While a lower court had dismissed the claim, an appeals court reversed the decision, holding Google solely responsible. Co-defendants Cablevision SA and El Censor, who shared the image, were cleared of liability, with the court noting their coverage only “helped highlight the misstep committed by Google.”
