Related News
Probe into possible Google violation
By Joelle Tessler |
November 12, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE United States Federal Communications Commission is investigating whether Google Inc broke the law by inadvertently sucking up fragments of e-mails, Internet passwords, Web surfing behavior and other online activities over public Wi-Fi networks while photographing neighborhoods for its "Street View" mapping feature.
The probe by the FCC comes two weeks after the Federal Trade Commission concluded its own inquiry into the problem, which Google said it discovered following an investigation by German regulators.
While the FTC criticized the search giant for collecting potentially sensitive information over unsecured wireless networks for several years before realizing it, the agency said it is satisfied that Google has taken adequate measures to improve its internal privacy controls. Those include privacy training for all 23,000 of the company's employees.
The FCC inquiry, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, will focus on whether Google violated a federal law that prohibits the unauthorized publication or use of messages intercepted over radio networks.
"As the agency charged with overseeing the public airwaves, we are committed to ensuring that the consumers affected by this breach of privacy receive a full and fair accounting," Michele Ellison, head of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, said in a statement.
Google has said it gathered about 600 gigabytes of data - enough to fill about six floors of an academic library - in more than 30 nations and wants to delete all of the information as soon it's cleared to do so in all affected countries. But the company is facing a number of investigations both in the US and overseas.
The probe by the FCC comes two weeks after the Federal Trade Commission concluded its own inquiry into the problem, which Google said it discovered following an investigation by German regulators.
While the FTC criticized the search giant for collecting potentially sensitive information over unsecured wireless networks for several years before realizing it, the agency said it is satisfied that Google has taken adequate measures to improve its internal privacy controls. Those include privacy training for all 23,000 of the company's employees.
The FCC inquiry, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, will focus on whether Google violated a federal law that prohibits the unauthorized publication or use of messages intercepted over radio networks.
"As the agency charged with overseeing the public airwaves, we are committed to ensuring that the consumers affected by this breach of privacy receive a full and fair accounting," Michele Ellison, head of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, said in a statement.
Google has said it gathered about 600 gigabytes of data - enough to fill about six floors of an academic library - in more than 30 nations and wants to delete all of the information as soon it's cleared to do so in all affected countries. But the company is facing a number of investigations both in the US and overseas.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
