Photographed naked in his yard and visible on Street View, an Argentinian compensated by Google

"Nobody wants to appear to the world as God made them to be." The Argentine justice system has ruled in favor of an Argentinian man photographed naked in the courtyard of his house by the Google Street View navigation service , according to a decision revealed by the local press on Thursday, July 24. The plaintiff, a member of the police, felt humiliated after the broadcast on a local television news program and on social networks of this naked photo of him, taken in 2017 by the mapping service of the American tech giant, which allows you to navigate the streets of the entire world using 360-degree photos.

The face—usually blurred by Google Street View—was not visible in the photo because the man appeared from behind. But the identification of his home made him easily recognizable in Bragado, a small town 210 km from Buenos Aires, which made him the target of mockery from neighbors and colleagues, according to the complaint. Google defended itself by claiming that the wall of the house was too low and that the plaintiff had not "preserved his privacy."

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In the first instance last year, a judge ruled that the man was responsible for the situation because he was "walking in inappropriate conditions in his garden." On appeal, however, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, ruling that the 2-meter-high wall was high enough, and that the company had "intruded" on the plaintiff's privacy, "undermining his dignity." The National Civil Appeals Chamber in Buenos Aires ordered Google Argentina and Google Inc. to pay the plaintiff 16 million pesos, or nearly 11,000 euros, in compensation for the violation of his dignity.

The court acquitted the telecoms company Cablevision SA and the news website El Censor, co-defendants in the case, of any responsibility for the dissemination of the image, finding that their actions had contributed to highlighting Google's error.