Google’s “Street View” application has raised concerns for a lot of people.  Including Aaron and Christine Boring of Allegheny County Pennsylvania:

Aaron and Christine Boring sued Google April 2 in Allegheny County, arguing Google’s “reckless conduct” in driving down a private road and publishing the resulting photos caused “mental suffering” and hurt the value of their home.   The two are seeking more than $25,000 in damages.  -=SOURCE=-

Apparently the photographer for Google Street View proceeded down a private driveway taking pictures for the application.  The plaintiffs contended that this amounted to actionable trespass.  The court reviewed the documents including the Street View application’s photos and dismissed the suit.  Apparently there were no signs overtly indicating it was a private driveway.

Generally, the accepted standard is, without a sign explaining a “Keep Out” or “No Trespassing” policy, or gates and fences for the property owner, anyone may approach a home via a walkway, driveway or any other route commonly used by visitors without gaining the actionable trespass liability.  In law enforcement we call this the “Mailman Rule”.  If the “Mailman” can be there, so can we UNLESS otherwise instructed.

Additionally, photographs taken from a public area toward private property are protected under the 1st Amendment.  As long as I am on public property, can “see” something, I can photograph it without repercussion.  There are some caveats to this.  The equipment used must not be specialized equipment and must be available to the general public.  This is an area where Google may be treading on the interpretation of the opinion.  The cameras they used to develop Street View are very specialized, but are available to the public…  for a price.

While everyone knows I am no fan of Google, I have to love their argument:

“When plaintiffs discovered these images, rather than using the simple removal option Google affords, they sued Google for invasion of privacy, trespass, negligence, and conversion. Plaintiffs seek damages form ‘mental suffering’ and diminished property value supposedly caused by the public accessibility of the photos. They claim these injuries even though similar photos of their home were already publicly available on the Internet, and even though they drew exponentially greater attention to the images in question by filing and publicizing the lawsuit while choosing not to remove the images of their property from the Street View service,” Google said in the response.

Other CNET links:

Couple sues Google for invading privacy with Street View

Pittsburgh couple sues Google over Street View

Interesting…