Oregon and Washington Residents File Class Action Lawsuit Against GoogleOver Alleged Google Street View (“GSV”) Wi-Fi Invasion of Privacy.
A class action lawsuit was filed against Google, Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon (captioned Vicki Van Valin and Neil Mertz v. Google, Inc., Case No. 3:10-cv-00557-ST), alleging that when Google created its data collection systems on its Google Street View (“GSV”) vehicles, it included wireless packet sniffers that, in addition to collecting the user’s unique or chosen Wi-Fi network name (“SSID”) and the unique number given to the user’s hardware used to broadcast a user’s Wi-Fi signal (“MAC address”), the Google Street View GSV data collection systems also collected data consisting of all or part of documents, e-mails, video, audio, and VoIP information being sent over the network by the user (“payload data”), according to class action lawsuit news reports.
The Google Street View (GSV) Wi-Fi privacy class action complaint reportedly asserts claims for, among other things, invasion of privacy under Oregon and Washington state law and violation of 18 U.S.C. 2511 (entitled “Interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications prohibited”) and seeks injunctive relief barring Google from destroying or altering payload data collected in Oregon and/or Washington.
For more information on the Google Street View (GSV) Wi-Fi Privacy class action lawsuit, read the Google class action complaint.
If You Have Thoughts On The Google Street View (GSV) Wi-Fi Privacy Class Action Lawsuit, Share Your Class Action Comments Below.
A few years ago I used to attend the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV. My first or second year attending CES, there was an orange van decked out in CTV cameras and some antennae. It was a ‘street view’ van.
I’d never seen anything like it, Google’s Street View maps were just becoming available, so I asked the technician sitting in the parked, open van if I could take a few photos. He said yes, and so I did. Got a few angles of the outside of the van, and a couple of the interior.
Inside the van, behind the front seats, was a sort of computer work station with a monitor. The monitor had a steadily changing display of what looked like IP addresses. You know, some digits, a dot, more digits, another couple dots, and other information.
Looking back on it, could the display have been showing captured IP information? I’ve seen news reports where Google says the capture of Wi-Fi information has been accidental or unintentional. I think maybe these photos, taken when Street View was still just being rolled out, could show Google’s practice of capturing Wi-Fi information was neither accidental or unintentional, and has gone on from the inception of Street View.
I may still have these photos, I think. Of course, I don’t really know what I’m talking about. Let me know what you think. NO SPAM.
Thanks.