Google has been successfully sued by a woman who had her breasts exposed on Street View.
Maria Pia Grillo of Montreal, Quebec, forced the company to pay out $2,250 plus $159 in court fees after one of its Street View cars took a photo of her sitting outside her home, whilst she was leaning over by her front door thus partially exposing her cleavage.
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Grillo claimed that the image had led to mocking and harassment from her co-workers at a “well-known bank,” along with a “significant loss of personal modesty and dignity.” Though she wasn’t paid the $45,000 in damages that she initially requested, the payout was still relatively substantial given that she was one individual taking on a tech giant such as Google.
Google’s counter-argument was that the photo of Grillo was taken in a public place, meaning that she should not expect to retain her privacy. However, Judge Alain Breault ruled that just because Grillo was in public didn’t mean that she was no longer allowed her right to privacy. The legal proceedings, which had been ongoing since 2011, saw Google being forced to pay out to Grillo along with censoring the image of her and her home on Street View.
