Urteil: Gericht untersagt Luftbildaufnahmen bei Google Maps

The German court has ruled that Google must stop publishing three-dimensional aerial images of a private residential property on its Google Earth and Google Maps services if the property owner objects. This decision comes from the 3rd Civil Chamber of the Landgericht Frankfurt am Main (case number: 2-03 O 388/25). The ruling reignites a long-standing dispute over data privacy in digital mapping services.

The plaintiff in this case is a family father who, along with his wife and children, resides in a house in Frankfurt am Main. The court believes that the detailed 3D images of the property violate the plaintiff's general personality rights. The court argues that no one should accept that aerial images of their inhabited property are publicly disseminated worldwide without their consent, especially when areas of the property obscured from public view are depicted.

The images also revealed the rear of the property, which is not visible from the street. The personal retreat area extends across the entire undisturbed property. The pictures could lead to conclusions about the private lifestyle and potentially expose security-relevant entry points. The judges were particularly critical of the method of data collection.

Google obtained the image material covertly through a form of "surveillance." Since they were not announced in advance, they went unnoticed by the affected individuals. The residents could not hide private areas from the cameras. Google's arguments of information freedom were not convincing for the court. While Google's service may satisfy the "adventure spirit" of people who want to digitally explore the world, it loses its protectability if it intrudes into private retreat areas.

This is often due to a satisfaction of curiosity or even improper intentions such as preparations for burglary. The court also stated that detailed aerial images of private properties are not necessary for infrastructure planning, urban planning, vacation assessments, or school instruction. The case echoes the debate surrounding Google Street View in Germany in 2010, where photographing German streets with camera cars sparked unprecedented outrage and significant data privacy concerns.

Following strong political and societal pressure, Google had to allow affected individuals to object. Thousands of households requested the obscuring of their facades, leading Google to not update the images in Germany for years, only to update the material again in 2023. The Frankfurt plaintiff had already used this right in the past, successfully arguing that his house should be made unidentifiable on Google Street View and the competing service Apple Look Around.

The current judgment extends this data protection claim to the bird's-eye view of Google Earth and Google Maps. The judgment was announced on September 24, 2026, and fully drafted on October 12, 2026. It is not yet legally binding. Google has not yet officially commented on the judgment.