Google to Be Investigated by FCC
FCC to examine Google Street View's collection of personal data
Google's collection of personal information - including emails and passwords from unsuspecting internet users - by its Street View cars is to be investigated by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The data capture, which occurred when Google Street View cars took photographs for the panoramic imaging service, has already been ruled unlawful in many countries, including Canada and the UK.
The US communications regulator said it will now examine whether the collection violated the Communications Act, confirming in a statement that consumers affected by "the breach of privacy" will be given the opportunity of redress. The investigation, thought to have been prompted by a complaint from the pressure group Electronic Privacy Information Centre, comes just two weeks after the US Federal Trade Commission dropped its investigation into the data breach.
Google originally acknowledged the collection of personal information in May, posting an apology on the company's blog and claiming only fragments of information were collected.
However, following an investigation by Canada's privacy commissioner, it transpired that the technology giant had collected so-called "payload" data from unsecured Wi-Fi networks.
Peter Fleischer, the company's global privacy counsel, recently said Google was "profoundly sorry for mistakenly collecting" the sensitive information. "As we have said before, we did not want this data, have never used any of it in our products or services, and have sought to delete it as quickly as possible."
The UK's information commissioner, Christopher Graham, last week ruled that Google had committed a "significant breach" of the Data Protection Act (DPA), announcing that the company will be subject to an audit of its data protection activities in the UK.
Ed Vaizey, the culture minister, announced earlier this month that the Metropolitan police have dropped their investigation into the personal information capture.
Fallout over the data breach has evolved into a wider public scrutiny about users' right to redress when their privacy is invaded by an internet company.
In the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has come in for most of the criticism, with privacy campaigners labelling it an "apologist" for big business and some claiming it to have emerged from the Google payload collection debacle worse than the company itself.
Earlier this week the ICO was accused of being "more Keystone Cops than a protector of our civil liberties" for "not sending technical people" to investigate the payload data at Google's London headquarters in July.
The two senior ICO lawyers who were sent to investigate the data cleared Google of any wrongdoing at the time, only for it later to emerge that the company had committed a breach of the DPA.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Google's collection of personal information - including emails and passwords from unsuspecting internet users - by its Street View cars is to be investigated by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The data capture, which occurred when Google Street View cars took photographs for the panoramic imaging service, has already been ruled unlawful in many countries, including Canada and the UK.
The US communications regulator said it will now examine whether the collection violated the Communications Act, confirming in a statement that consumers affected by "the breach of privacy" will be given the opportunity of redress. The investigation, thought to have been prompted by a complaint from the pressure group Electronic Privacy Information Centre, comes just two weeks after the US Federal Trade Commission dropped its investigation into the data breach.
Google originally acknowledged the collection of personal information in May, posting an apology on the company's blog and claiming only fragments of information were collected.
However, following an investigation by Canada's privacy commissioner, it transpired that the technology giant had collected so-called "payload" data from unsecured Wi-Fi networks.
Peter Fleischer, the company's global privacy counsel, recently said Google was "profoundly sorry for mistakenly collecting" the sensitive information. "As we have said before, we did not want this data, have never used any of it in our products or services, and have sought to delete it as quickly as possible."
The UK's information commissioner, Christopher Graham, last week ruled that Google had committed a "significant breach" of the Data Protection Act (DPA), announcing that the company will be subject to an audit of its data protection activities in the UK.
Ed Vaizey, the culture minister, announced earlier this month that the Metropolitan police have dropped their investigation into the personal information capture.
Fallout over the data breach has evolved into a wider public scrutiny about users' right to redress when their privacy is invaded by an internet company.
In the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has come in for most of the criticism, with privacy campaigners labelling it an "apologist" for big business and some claiming it to have emerged from the Google payload collection debacle worse than the company itself.
Earlier this week the ICO was accused of being "more Keystone Cops than a protector of our civil liberties" for "not sending technical people" to investigate the payload data at Google's London headquarters in July.
The two senior ICO lawyers who were sent to investigate the data cleared Google of any wrongdoing at the time, only for it later to emerge that the company had committed a breach of the DPA.
Google's collection of personal information - including emails and passwords from unsuspecting internet users - by its Street View cars is to be investigated by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The data capture, which occurred when Google Street View cars took photographs for the panoramic imaging service, has already been ruled unlawful in many countries, including Canada and the UK.
The US communications regulator said it will now examine whether the collection violated the Communications Act, confirming in a statement that consumers affected by "the breach of privacy" will be given the opportunity of redress. The investigation, thought to have been prompted by a complaint from the pressure group Electronic Privacy Information Centre, comes just two weeks after the US Federal Trade Commission dropped its investigation into the data breach.
Google originally acknowledged the collection of personal information in May, posting an apology on the company's blog and claiming only fragments of information were collected.
However, following an investigation by Canada's privacy commissioner, it transpired that the technology giant had collected so-called "payload" data from unsecured Wi-Fi networks.
Peter Fleischer, the company's global privacy counsel, recently said Google was "profoundly sorry for mistakenly collecting" the sensitive information. "As we have said before, we did not want this data, have never used any of it in our products or services, and have sought to delete it as quickly as possible."
The UK's information commissioner, Christopher Graham, last week ruled that Google had committed a "significant breach" of the Data Protection Act (DPA), announcing that the company will be subject to an audit of its data protection activities in the UK.
Ed Vaizey, the culture minister, announced earlier this month that the Metropolitan police have dropped their investigation into the personal information capture.
Fallout over the data breach has evolved into a wider public scrutiny about users' right to redress when their privacy is invaded by an internet company.
In the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has come in for most of the criticism, with privacy campaigners labelling it an "apologist" for big business and some claiming it to have emerged from the Google payload collection debacle worse than the company itself.
Earlier this week the ICO was accused of being "more Keystone Cops than a protector of our civil liberties" for "not sending technical people" to investigate the payload data at Google's London headquarters in July.
The two senior ICO lawyers who were sent to investigate the data cleared Google of any wrongdoing at the time, only for it later to emerge that the company had committed a breach of the DPA.