德国一家法院裁定，谷歌未经许可不得继续在其服务中展示人们住宅的俯瞰图像。法兰克福地区法院周二作出判决，认为谷歌地球和谷歌地图上的航拍及卫星视图违反了德国严格的隐私法。法院更进一步，将这种做法称为“间谍行为”。
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”.
一名法兰克福男子提起了诉讼。根据德国隐私规则，德国法院和媒体未公布其姓名，德国之声对此进行了报道。此前，他已迫使谷歌街景和苹果 Look Around 对其家庭住宅的照片进行模糊处理。这一次，他将矛头指向了俯瞰影像。
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.
法院支持了他的主张。法院表示，任何人都不应被迫接受谷歌在未经同意的情况下在全球范围内发布其房产的航拍图像，至少在该区域隐蔽于公众视线之外的情况下不应如此。
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.
法院表示：“原告的个人空间延伸至住宅地块的整个范围。此处所能获取的唯一数据均属个人性质，可揭示私人生活方式的线索，如房产的大小和设计。此外，房产安全周界的潜在薄弱点也一览无余。”
“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.
法官给出了两个理由。一是侵犯隐私。二是安全隐患。他们表示，俯瞰视图可能帮助窃贼寻找薄弱环节。法院还裁定，谷歌在拍摄某区域前必须提醒房产所有人。
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.
谷歌将提起上诉 谷歌拒绝接受该判决，并表示将提起上诉。该公司告诉《法院新闻》，它“强烈”不同意该裁决。谷歌辩称，谷歌地球和谷歌地图是一项公共服务，而非监控。
Google will appeal 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.
谷歌发言人表示：“谷歌地球和谷歌地图提供的视图用途广泛，例如城市规划、环境研究和灾害救援，这使其成为为数百万人提供的高价值服务。”
“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.
该发言人还补充说，这些图片是由来自多家供应商的卫星和航拍照片拼接而成，类似的视图也出现在其他公共服务中。法院没有采纳这一说法。法院驳回了谷歌关于其正在使知识民主化的主张，并表示信息自由并不赋予其侵犯私人空间的权利。
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.
德国与摄像头的长期斗争 这项裁决出炉之际，这个国家对硅谷的摄像头几乎没有耐心。十多年前，德国对谷歌街景的抵制导致住宅被模糊处理，一些摄像车遭到攻击。这一裁决加大了对谷歌地球及其图像的压力。
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.
这也契合了欧洲和美国法院约束大型科技公司的一系列裁决。法兰克福一家法院最近就诈骗广告问题对Meta作出不利裁决，得克萨斯州则起诉Netflix涉嫌窥探和成瘾性设计。目前，谷歌的航拍图像在上诉期间仍保持在线，上诉法院仍有可能推翻这一裁决。
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.