Individual in Munich protests nude photos of herself showing up in Google search results
A woman is taking Google to court in a landmark ruling at the Munich court, claiming that the tech giant is responsible for the appearance of stolen intimate images in its search results. The lawsuit, made public by the non-profit organization HateAid, which supports victims of online violence, aims to have all previously reported and identical images removed from Google Search.
The images, stolen from the couple's private database, have been widely circulated online since 2023, and have been found on porn sites and through Google Image Search when combining the couple's real names with explicit search terms. HateAid, an organization that advises and supports people exposed to online violence, has asked Google not to display the images and slightly altered versions in the future, but the company has not complied.
Google acknowledges the spread of private images as a complex challenge and understands the distress caused when content is shared online without permission. The tech giant has developed protective measures to respond to reports of such images and usually removes the hits upon request. However, the images continue to be uploaded and displayed as search results, a situation that the plaintiff finds unacceptable.
According to the plaintiff, Google is bound by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a European Union law designed to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe, and the company must guarantee the "right to be forgotten" as set out in the GDPR. The plaintiff has since moved and changed jobs due to the images being circulated, and her private and professional circles have found the images through Google Search.
The court will clarify whether Google can be compelled to remove the images. Google has until the end of September to submit a response to the lawsuit. If successful, this case could set a precedent for future cases involving the removal of intimate images from search results.
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