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States Launch Joint Probe of Google Wi-Fi Snooping
CWmike writes "As many as 30 states could join an investigation into Google's collection of personal information from unprotected wireless networks, Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal announced today. Google's response was similar to what it said earlier this month: 'It was a mistake for us to include code in our software that collected payload data, but we believe we didn't break any US laws. We're working with the relevant authorities to answer their questions and concerns.' Google already faces investigations by privacy authorities in several European countries, including the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. In the US, Google faces multiple civil lawsuits, and the company has been asked for more information from several congressmen as a preliminary step to a legislative hearing. Google has asked that the lawsuits be consolidated and moved to a California federal court's jurisdiction."
Give me a break. This is just like Google going around, opening people's mail that is sitting in mailboxes. That is a crime and so is skimming data from networks that they are attached to. The law does not require a person to secure their data to turn unauthorized access into a crime; it is always a crime.
I also want to know why Google believes it has the right to map WiFi networks. Who are they to think they(Google) has the right to locate and map out the locations of WiFi routers around the world? Google is wrong in this and I want to see them pay(legally and civilly).
Call me naive, but I trust Microsoft. I've been using Hotmail since late 2004. I just migrated away from the iPhone after three years; I now have a Windows Mobile smartphone as my primary phone. My calendar, my contacts, etc. are in the Microsoft cloud. And guess what? They've never done ANYTHING to erode my trust in them. In the age of telecom companies trying to cap mobile data plans, and place arbitrary restrictions on IP-delivered media content, Microsoft is busy trying to roll out fiber and generally make the Internet better. I believe that not only do they live by their "I'm a PC" mantra, but that they realize the days of the free Internet may be numbered. They're doing their best to save the Internet as we know it. Granted, they have something to gain. But other companies' failure to evolve leaves the door wide open for a company which we should trust far more than AT&T, Time Warner, etc. to preserve the landscape that slashdotters are so eager to protect. The tag is correct, it's a witch hunt. Microsoft admitted their mistake (the whole monopoly thing), we move on.