The Landgericht Frankfurt am Main has barred Google from displaying 3D aerial images of one Frankfurt property on Maps and Earth, finding that views of secluded areas infringed the plaintiff’s privacy.
The order concerns the images of this plaintiff’s residential property, including parts of the parcel that people on the street could not see. It does not set a general advance-consent rule for every property shown on Google’s mapping services.
The court said the property’s size and outdoor layout could reveal aspects of the plaintiff’s private life. The court said the images could reveal potential access points to the property that are relevant to its security.
The judges criticized Google for not notifying property owners before taking aerial images, saying that left them without an opportunity to shield parts of their land beforehand. They rejected Google’s argument that making geographic information accessible justified publishing these images despite the privacy intrusion.
The plaintiff had previously obtained blurring of his home on Google Street View and Apple Look Around. The court announced its ruling Sept. 24 and completed the written judgment Oct. 12.
The judgment is not final. Google may appeal to the Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt am Main; the court’s release gave no scheduled date for an appeal.
