Compliance Management, Privacy

Supreme Court gives merit to Street View privacy concerns

The Supreme Court Monday refused to hear Google's challenge to an ongoing suit accusing it of illegally collecting Wi-Fi data via its Street View mapping service and cleared the way for the class action suit to move forward.

An admission in June 2010 that it “mistakenly” siphoned users' Wi-Fi communications spawned several lawsuits, including this one filed in 2011. The company has since battled accusations it violated the WireTap Act with Street View between 2009 and 2010.  

Court documents claim that Street View – which offered panoramic, street-level views of geographical locations – utilized Google-dispatched cars capable of collecting unencrypted Wi-Fi data transmitted in surrounding areas, including in homes and businesses.

In March 2013, the tech giant inked a $7 million settlement with attorneys general in 38 states and the District of Columbia to resolve a separate lawsuit regarding Street View.

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