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Google's Streetview Privacy Snafu Prompts Lawsuit
shmG writes "Google's secret data collection has prompted a class-action lawsuit that could force the company to pay up to $10,000 for each time it recorded data from unprotected hotspots, court documents show. The incident, which the company claims to have been unintentional, has prompted the ire of governments and privacy groups around the world. Google collected information that could be used to identify users, including 'the user's unique or chosen Wi-Fi network name, the unique number given to the user's hardware ... [and] data consisting of all or part of any documents, e-mails, video, audio, and VoIP information being sent over the network by the user,' the suit stated."
If you leave your AP unsecured like a dumbass you get EVERYTHING you deserve.
Do you audit every piece of code written by someone else that you call into to make sure? Never use private APIs either, I bet.
Do you make sure your data segments are all flagged DONT_SWAP?
Anything that can be viewed from a public place such as a street is not private in any sense of the word. A person who can be photographed is in a public situation.
These privacy nuts are just that. It is time for people to take responsibility for their appearance, their actions and their whereabouts.
Am I wrong, or does it seem that the majority of Google's harshest critics are European?
If that's the case, I suspect that Europe is just pissed off that the best internet company is American.
Which is kind of like Americans being pissed off that the 2 most highly grossing movies of all time are by a Canadian....
Oh wait, that DOES piss me off....