A German court has told Google it cannot keep showing people’s homes from above without their permission. The Frankfurt Regional Court ruled on Tuesday that the aerial and satellite views on Google Earth and Google Maps break Germany’s strict privacy laws. It went further, and called the practice “spying”.
A man in Frankfurt brought the case. German courts and media have withheld his name under the country’s privacy rules, as Deutsche Welle reported. He had already forced Google Street View and Apple Look Around to blur photographs of his family’s home. This time he went after the overhead imagery.
The court agreed with him. It said nobody should have to accept Google publishing aerial images of their property worldwide without consent, at least where those areas sit hidden from public view.
“The plaintiff’s personal space extends across the whole of the home’s parcel. The only data to be gleaned here are personal, giving clues to private lifestyle, such as the size and design of the property. Beyond this, potential weak points in the property’s security perimeter are also laid bare,” the court said.
The judges gave two reasons. One was the invasion of privacy. The other was safety. The overhead views, they said, could help burglars find weak spots. The court also ruled that Google must warn property owners before it photographs an area.
Google rejected the finding and said it would appeal. The company “strongly” disagreed with the ruling, it told Courthouse News. It argued that Google Earth and Maps are a public service, not surveillance.
“The views provided in Google Earth and Google Maps are used for a wide range of purposes, such as urban planning, environmental research and disaster relief, making them a highly valuable service for millions of people,” a Google spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that the pictures are a mosaic of satellite and aerial shots from several providers, and that similar views appear in other public services. The court did not accept it. It rejected Google’s claim that it was democratising knowledge, and said freedom of information gives it no right to invade private spaces.
Germany’s long fight with the cameras
The ruling lands in a country with little patience for Silicon Valley’s cameras. Germany’s pushback on Google Street View more than a decade ago saw homes blurred, and some camera cars attacked. The decision adds to pressure on Google Earth and its imagery.
It also fits a run of European and US courts reining in big tech. A Frankfurt court recently ruled against Meta over scam ads, and Texas has sued Netflix for alleged spying and addictive design. For now, Google aerial imagery stays online while the company appeals, and an appeals court may yet overturn it.
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