Noord-Holland residents claim Google Streetview driver violated private property rules

Multiple residents of Wieringermeer in Noord-Holland are embroiled in a battle with Google about images of their properties on Google Street View. For some, the Street View images show their entire garden. “It’s a terrible thought that anyone can just look into your property,” local farmer Bas Bouthoorn told NH Nieuws.

The Netherlands Data Protection Authority reported earlier this week that photos of the private properties of people, businesses, and a school in Middenmeer and Wieringerwerf were visible on Google Street View. Some Wieringerwerf locals have been fighting with Google about this for months, Bouthoorn said. The photos of his property are still online six months after they were taken

“What’s on my property, where my cameras are: the images contain all sorts of sensitive information,” Bouthoorn, an arable farmer, told the broadcaster. “We didn’t even see the car ourselves. We discussed it at the neighborhood barbecue. Most of our neighbors’ images have been removed. Ours still haven’t.”

“Someone with bad intentions could also look around here to see if there’s anything to steal,” Karin Bouthoorn said. She’s worried because they have a lot of expensive agricultural machinery and bicycles on the farm. “They can now just look from behind the computer at what we have.”

Earlier this year, there was a confrontation between several locals and a Google Street View driver. In March, a local caught the driver on their private property, driving past the fence and far back into the property. When the Google driver drove into another property further along Alkmaarseweg, several locals blocked his way and called the police.

According to NH Nieuws, the driver claimed that he hadn’t recorded anything. But later, footage of the route he took appeared online, one resident of Alkmaarseweg told NH. The footage showed that he entered almost every property on the street.

The police told the broadcaster that they mediated between the residents and Google on the day of the confrontation. But because no serious violation was committed, there was little the police could do other than let the parties find a solution themselves, the spokesperson said.

Some residents of Alkmaarseweg are considering legal action against Google. “It’s truly bizarre. They’ve gone too far,” said Bas Bouthoorn.