Argentine man wins $12,500 in privacy lawsuit over naked Google Street View photo

The incident happened in 2017 in Bragado, a city of 45,000 in Buenos Aires. The officer said he had been standing nude behind a 6.5-foot (1.98-meter) wall at home when Google's Street View vehicle photographed him from behind, according to the Daily Mail.

The image went viral after appearing in a local television segment about unusual Street View images. The officer said he was humiliated by neighbors and eventually began leaving his house only to go to work.

A lower court initially dismissed his claim, ruling that he was responsible for "walking around in inappropriate conditions in the garden of his home," while Google argued that the wall was not high enough to ensure privacy, according to CBS News.

Earlier this month, an appellate court overturned that ruling, according to AFP via CBS News.

Google Street View car. Photo from Unspash

Judges determined that Google had committed "a serious error" and violated the officer's dignity by publishing the image. The court ordered the U.S. tech giant to pay compensation and remove the photo from its Street View platform. A fine of 100,000 Argentine pesos (US$78) would be imposed for each day the image remains online.

"This involves an image of a person that was not captured in a public space but within the confines of their home, behind a fence taller than the average-sized person. The invasion of privacy ... is blatant," the judges wrote, as cited by CBS News.

"There is no doubt that in this case there was an arbitrary intrusion into another's life," they added. "No one wants to appear exposed to the world as the day they were born."

The ruling also pointed to Google's internal policies, which automatically blur faces and license plates in Street View. The judges said this reflects the company's own recognition of the need to prevent harm. However, in this case, the man's "entire naked body" was visible and should have been flagged, it said, Fox Business reported.

Google has faced other legal challenges over its Street View program. In 2019, it agreed to pay a $13 million settlement over the unauthorized collection of personal data. In 2010, it admitted trespassing while photographing a home in Pennsylvania and was ordered to pay $1 in damages to the plaintiffs.