'Boring' Family Gets $1 in Google Street View Trespass Case

[The Straight Story]

'Boring' Family Gets $1 in Google Street View Trespass Case

A couple who sued Google over Street View photos of their Pennsylvania home have triumphed on charges of trespassing, but they will only walk away with one dollar.

A Pennsylvania district court this week awarded Aaron and Christine Boring damages of $1 on the trespassing charges, which Google has agreed to pay.

The Boring family sued Google in 2008 for privacy, trespassing, negligence, and unjust enrichment after photographs of their home showed up on Street View. A Pennsylvania district judge dismissed the case in February 2009 because, she said, the Borings had failed to prove that the images had caused them any real distress. The Borings filed an appeal, and in February 2010, the appeals court said the couple could pursue their trespassing claim.

They have now prevailed on that charge, but is the $1 settlement worth the effort?

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2373754,00.asp

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Boring.

[MadHound]

2. It sets an interesting precedent, and in law, precedent is everything

Frankly I'm not a fan of Google's street view either, and find it rather intrusive that they can take pictures of my property and put it up for the whole world to see.

[LiberalFighter]

7. Some local governments already have pictures of the homes

and they are available for public viewing.

[Kalyke]

9. But, yet, I could drive by and see the same view of your property.

It's not invasion of privacy.

If I can see your property from a public street, then I can take a picture of what I see and post it online, in a newspaper, on television. It's public view.

I can't, however, stand on your property without your permission and take pictures.

That's the way it works.

[MadHound]

11. That's why this case is so interesting,

It sets a precedent, one that might blossom into something. We'll see.

[Gman]

16. Realtors routinely take pictures of houses in the neighborhood

for appraisal and sale purposes. People do it all the time, even if only in the background of their own personal pictures.

[drm604]

3. If the owner of every building on Google street view were to get $1

that would certainly add up.

[the redcoat]

4. There's nothing wrong with google street view

It doesn't give any information other than "this building exists." If you allow people driving by to glance at your house, then you should have no problem with its picture being online, as it doesn't reveal anything private, or really any other information at all.

[NV Whino]

5. Well, Google Street View came up my PRIVATE road

to get a view of my house and others on this road.

[MadHound]

6. Any decent thief will tell you that being able to case out a mark, even from the street,

Is invaluable preparation for breaking into a house. Now they can do so remotely via Google's street view.

[AsahinaKimi]

8. Not to mention

Stalkers..

[drmeow]

10. Is google street view

from live webcams - i.e., real time? Isn't casing a joint done in real time over a period of days (to watch comings and goings, etc)?

[MadHound]

13. Sure, but initially a static view will weed out certain houses

Do you have large shrubs by your windows, what are the lines of sight from the street, that sort of thing. It allows the thief to have this initial static picture without having to stand outside your house looking suspicious and taking pictures.

[JackintheGreen]

14. Any decent thief

would case the place in person. Dogs don't show up on google. Neither do nosy neighbors, or a dozen other things that might dissuade a burglar. The exterior of your house is public insofar as anybody going down your street can see it. Now, the poster upthread who mentioned google coming down their private road? That's an invasion of privacy.

[Lance_Boyle]

15. Any decent thief casing a house needs REALTIME info from it, not stale info.

When people are home or away, times of arrival/departure, what neighbors might be able to see from their houses, etc.

Streetview provides precious little useful information for casing a house. Has ground floor windows that might be used for entry? Guess what? The descriptor "ranch style house" provides that same information, no pictures needed.

Hoopla over nothing. I hope the Boring family enjoys that dollar they wasted thousands in legal fees to secure.

[The_Commonist]

12. That's a nice swimming pool they have!

Street view won't go up Oakridge Lane anymore, but you can still see their house on satellite view.
The address is on The Smoking Gun.
Took me less than one minute to find.
I would never have cared, except that they were dumb enough to sue...