Canada fines Google HK$15,000 for Street View photos of woman’s cleavage
Canadian woman said she was derided and abused after Google Street View car captured image of her outside her house
Google has been ordered to pay a Canadian woman C$2,250 (HK$15,540) for an image on Street View that captured her cleavage.
A judge ruled that despite being in public, sitting on the steps of her private property, Maria Pia Grillo's privacy had been disrespected and that her "modesty and dignity" had been violated.
"In addition to malicious comments and humiliation she suffered at work, the plaintiff, in particular, has experienced a significant loss of personal modesty and dignity, two values that she held and are eminently respectable," said Judge Alain Breault, describing his approach to the case as "European" and ordering Google to pay C$2,250.
Google declined to comment.
Grillo had originally sued for C$45,000 in damages, including for the "right to have a private life", explaining that despite the image having had her face automatically blurred out, as with all images captured of people by Google's Street View cars, her house and car registration plate clearly identified her as the subject of the image.
Grillo said that she suffered "mockeries, derisions, disrespectful and sexually related comments in relation to the photographs" due to the fact that she was clearly identifiable despite Google's anonymisation.