Blogs ·  Liveblogs ·  Capture Kansas ·  Widgets ·  13 On Your Cell ·  Desktop Alert ·  In the Community ·  My Rewards
Home  ·   Local  ·   U.S. & World  ·   Weather  ·   Sports  ·   Political  ·   Money/Stocks  ·   Blogs  ·   Meet the Team  ·   Jobs  ·  
Mr. Food Recipes · KS Prep Zone · Shopping Plaza · Classifieds · Coupons · Programming · 13 On Your Cell
WIBW

$$$$$$$$
Blogs



Weather
Sports
Web Features
On-Air Programs
Capture Kansas
Send us your photos
13 On Your Cell
Wherever
you go
Desktop Alert
Up to the minute
WIBW Widgets
Put 'em anywhere
RSS Feeds
The latest headlines
Couple: Google Maps Violates Our Privacy Save Email Print
Posted: 10:06 AM Apr 7, 2008
Last Updated: 10:06 AM Apr 7, 2008

A | A | A

(AP) A western Pennsylvania couple sued Google Inc., saying pictures of their home that appear on the Web site's "Street View" feature violated their privacy, devalued their property and caused them mental suffering.

Aaron and Christine Boring bought the home in Franklin Park, a Pittsburgh suburb, in October 2006 for a "considerable sum of money," according to their 10-page lawsuit filed Wednesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

"A major component of their purchase decision was a desire for privacy," the lawsuit said.

The suit targets the Mountain View, Calif., company over images on its Web site, which allows users to find street-level photos by clicking on a map. To gather the photos, Google uses vehicles with mounted digital cameras to take pictures up and down the streets of major metropolitan areas.

The Borings say the images of their home on the Google site had to be taken from their long driveway, labeled "Private Road," and that violated their privacy.

"There's no merit to this action," Google spokesman Larry Yu said. "It is unfortunate litigation was chosen to address the concern because we have visible tools, such as a YouTube video, to help people learn about imagery removal and an easy-to-use process to facilitate image removal."

He said Google has links on the Web site that let property owners request that such images be removed if they cite a good reason and can confirm they own the property depicted.

"We absolutely respect that people may not be comfortable with some of the imagery on the site," Yu said. "We actually make it pretty easy for people to submit a request to us to remove the imagery."

Yu also said that if the Borings made such a request to Google, especially arguing that the images show a view from their private driveway, he is confident that the image would be removed.

The couple's attorney, Dennis Moskal, said that's not the point. He said the Borings' privacy was invaded when the Google vehicle allegedly drove onto their property. Removing the image doesn't undo that damage - nor will it deter the company from doing the same thing in the future, he said.

"Isn't litigation the only way to change a big business' conduct with the public?" Moskal said. "What happened to their accountability?"

Google, however, is not the only Web site with a photo of the Borings' property.

The Allegheny County real estate Web site has a photo, plus a detailed description of the home and the couple's name. The site contains similar information, including pictures, of nearly every property in the county.

Moskal said the county's image appeared to be less intrusive than Google's, but said there's no way to take a picture of the home from a public street.

Moskal said his clients did not wish to speak to the media. The Associated Press could not find a listed phone number for them.

The Borings paid $163,000 for the property, according to the county Web site. The county describes the home as a single-family, four-room bungalow with a full basement. The one-story frame home was built in 1916 and sits on a property that's a little less than 2 acres.

The home is 984 square feet with a fireplace and central heat and county assessors graded it as being in "Fair" condition. The county Web site does not mention the property's two detached garages and swimming pool, which are visible in the Google pictures and are mentioned in the couple's lawsuit.

© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

More Stories
Woman Gets life in Prison for Killing 4 in Texas

Mo. Teen Sentenced in Parents' Shooting

Wildfires Force Frantic Evacuations Near LA; 2 Die

Cambodia Issues Ultimatum to Thailand to Withdraw

Obama Leads McCain by 10 Points In New Poll

Wall Street Rebounds With Record Surge

Podium Gets Carried Away During Bush Toast

McCain Vows To Fight For New Direction

Online Poll
Will the bailout package help stabilize the economy?

Yes
No
Don't know/ care


CBS News
  • Bush To Announce $250B Bank Share Buy-Up
    The Bush administration plans to spend an initial $250 billion of the $700 billion bailout buying stock in private banks, greatly expanding protections for the U.S. financial system out of deep concern for the faltering economy.
  • Deadly L.A. Blaze Is On The Move
    Residents near Los Angeles are being warned to stay on alert during the night as two huge wildfires burn in parts of the San Fernando Valley.
  • McCain: Lewis' Campaign Comparison Unfair
    John McCain said that it was unfair for Rep. John Lewis to compare the negative tone of the Republican presidential campaign to the atmosphere a segregationist fostered in the 1960s.
  • Record Surge Gives Wall St. A Boost
    Wall Street has snapped back from last week's devastating losses after major governments announced further steps to support the global banking system. The Dow Jones industrials rose more than 900 points.