This week, a US counple, Aaron Boring & Christine Boring (“Boring” is the surname) sued Google for invasion of privacy. They claimed that Google has disclosed their house and swimming pool pictures on Google Street Views.
Based on The Smoking Gun’s website, the couple bought their house in late 2006 for a sum of $163,000.00. Privacy is the main reason that they decided to purchase the house, whereby one can see the ”Private Road” sign near to their house.
After Google added the city of Pittsburgh into thier Google Map, which was viewable by public online, the Borings claimed that such an act coused them “mental” suffering and caused the dropping of the market value of the house.
They claimed for a damages of at least $25,000 and to order the defendant, Google, to remove their house pictures from the website.
Law.com reported that US lawyers “don’t think suing Google over Street View photos will become a huge trend. Like any member of the public, Google is allowed to take pictures from public streets.”
Kevin Banston, a US lawyer said “there may be some instances where Google will be held liable for its photo-happy ways. For instance, Bankston pointed to a 1964 Alabama case, Daily Times-Democrat v. Graham, 162 So.2d 474, where a newspaper was held liable for printing a photo of a woman whose skirt had been blown over her head, even though the picture was taken in a public place, a county fair. A judge found the photo was not essential to the story.”
However, Banston said proving demages is not easy in Boring’s case.
By now one should realise that such a suit not only unable to restore Borings’ privacy, in fact, it has increased the publicity of their resident tremendously.
Some websites even suggested Borings to sue the court as the court also published their house pictures on the website.
If you want to see the statement of claim filed by Borings, please click at the below link:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0404081google1.html
For more reports about this case, please click at the below link:
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1207305794776&rss=newswire
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/05/2208794.htm?section=justin
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/05/google_street_view_suit/
2 responses so far ↓
1 tingtitlei // Apr 6, 2008 at 12:34 pm
i wanna sue some blogs for writing my name also.. mahai never pay me royalty want use my name.. copyright infringement!
2 Jaxon S // Apr 7, 2008 at 9:37 am
Heh heh… suing Google will definitely make life more interesting, that’s what I thought when I saw the heading.
Leave a Comment