Skip to main content

Google coughs up $2,250 for showing a woman’s cleavage in Street View

stanford research google street view cars predict zip code stats maps
Image used with permission by copyright holder
While Google’s Street View in Maps has given us breathtaking views of different vistas, the application has also shown us questionable and rather shocking imagery. In the case of Canadian woman Maria Pia Grillo, you can classify it as questionable imagery.

According to a 17-page decision, which was reported by GigaOM, Grillo looked up her house using Street View in 2009 when she realized there was an image of her leaning forward on her porch, revealing her cleavage. Even though the original image blurred out her face, there was enough information in the picture to identify her.

Before after Street View incidentIn 2011, Grillo began legal proceedings against Google, slapping the company with a $45,000 lawsuit for emotional damage, which included depression and mockery by her co-workers. Grillo also demanded that Google blur her, as well as her license plate and address. While Google complied with the latter request, the company rejected her money demands, reasoning that Grillo was in a public space and that there was no connection between her emotional distress and the Street View incident.

Earlier this month, the judge sided with Google that the incident did not appear to be directly connected to Grillo’s claimed mental distress. The judge even questioned why Grillo waited two years to file any sort of lawsuit. However, according to the judge, just because people are in a location where people can see them does not mean they forfeit their privacy rights.

The judge subsequently ordered Google to pay Grillo $2,250, as well as an additional $159 for court costs. You can see the before and after images above, which were published by tabloid Journal de Montreal. The judge’s decision can be read below, and while there’s no English version for now, several passages are in English.

Google Street View Case

Editors' Recommendations

Williams Pelegrin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…
How to sync your Outlook Calendar with your Google Calendar
aop version 28 best value 15 inch laptops

It can be difficult to keep track of multiple calendars worth of events. And it can be especially hard when they span different calendar apps like Google Calendar and Outlook. You might then be looking for a way to sync the two apps' respective calendars between them. If you are, you've come to the right place.

Read more
Don’t update your Google Pixel phone — you might break it
A person holding the Google Pixel 8, showing the screen.

One of the reasons to buy a Google Pixel phone is to be first in line to receive software updates — from new Android versions to important security patches. Unfortunately, one of the latest updates from Google is breaking some Pixel phones.

Over the weekend, a Reddit user on the r/GooglePixel subreddit compiled a list of threads from nearly a dozen Pixel owners reporting issues with their phones after downloading the most recent January 2024 Google Play system update.

Read more
Google Pixel Watch 2 is now cheaper than it was on Black Friday
Someone wearing the Google Pixel Watch 2 with a yellow/green fabric band.

There was no chance to buy the Google Pixel Watch 2 with a discount from last Black Friday's smartwatch deals, but you won't have to wait any longer because it's down to a cheaper price of $300 from Best Buy. The $50 discount on its original price of $350 further adds to the value of the wearable device, but you're going to have to hurry with completing the purchase as stocks may already be running low. The offer may expire at any moment, so you need to push through with the transaction immediately.

Why you should buy the Google Pixel Watch 2
The Google Pixel Watch 2, launched a year after the Google Pixel Watch, is an Android-powered smartwatch with a circular display measuring 1.2 inches in diameter and peak brightness of 1,000 nits. It ships with Google's Wear OS 4, comes with Google Assistant onboard, and lasts more than 24 hours on a single charge. You can use the Google Pixel Watch 2 to view notifications from your paired smartphone, and it can also access Google apps such as Gmail and Calendar.

Read more