Human Rights : Public policy

A Pittsburgh couple has sued Google for driving up a private road, taking pictures of their house, then posting them for the world to see with Google Maps' Street View feature. At the time, Google argued that pictures and other details of the house were already on the Internet due to its previous sale listing. The company was also quick to point out that the couple compounded the attention drawn to the photos it took by filing a lawsuit instead of using Google's tools for requesting a removal of the images.

The debate centered around an "opt-in or opt-out"

Amongst the companies targeted by the suit are BP, Exxon Mobil, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, General Motors and Ford. The plaintiffs are seeking damages of more than $400bn, arguing that the companies broke international law by assisting the apartheid regime in South Africa.

Lawmakers are scheduled to take on a measure arising out of the case of Lilly Ledbetter, an Alabama woman who lost a wage discrimination suit at the Supreme Court last year.

San Francisco-based human rights organization Global Exchange and Harrington Investments presented a resolution to create a board-level human rights committee at the Hershey's Corporation.

They have removed their claims that the oil company was responsible for military attacks on protesters in the late 1990s.

A senior Treasury official has also said that Congress should refrain from passing legislation that requires a list of all companies doing business in Sudan because it would alienate allies and may hurt international efforts to end violence in Darfur.