An Argentine appeals court has ordered Google to pay roughly $12,500 to a man who was photographed completely naked in his backyard by a Google Street View car, despite being behind a 6-foot-6 wall.
The ruling, issued earlier this month and first reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP) via CBS News, found that Google had committed “a serious error” by publishing the image.
The man, reportedly a police officer, was captured in 2017, while walking unclothed in his yard in Bragado, a town west of Buenos Aires.
His house number and street name were visible in the image, which remained online for an undisclosed period before being removed.
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He sued Google Argentina in 2019, claiming the exposure caused humiliation among neighbors and colleagues. A lower court initially dismissed the case, faulting the man for being outside in an “inappropriate condition,” but an appeals panel reversed that decision in July 2025.
“This involves an image of a person not captured in a public space, but within the confines of their home, behind a fence taller than the average-sized person,” the court wrote, according to AFP. “The invasion of privacy … is blatant.”
The judges awarded the plaintiff about £9,300, or the equivalent of $12,500 USD, stating: “No one wants to appear exposed to the world as the day they were born.”
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Redacted versions of the image were later published by the Daily Mail. It’s unclear when Google took the photo down or whether it was removed before the man filed his lawsuit.
FOX Business has reached out to the tech giant for comment.
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As of publication, Google has not responded. There’s also no indication the company has filed an appeal.
Argentina’s constitution and privacy laws offer strong protections for personal dignity, even when individuals are partially visible from public spaces.
The court cited Google’s own policy of automatically blurring faces and license plates as evidence the company acknowledges its responsibility to prevent harm.
But in this case, the man’s “entire naked body” was visible, the judges said, and the image should have been flagged.
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Google’s Street View policy states the company uses “cutting-edge face and license plate blurring technology” and allows users to request additional removals.
The ruling could open the door for similar privacy claims, particularly in Latin America, where protections are often stricter than in the U.S.
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