Google’s Privacy Mess Gets Worse: It Collected Wi-Fi Data in the U.S., Not Just Europe

“I realized that Google’s public comments on the story left
unclear whether parts of the world other than Europe might have
been affected. I asked Google whether what it did with Street View
in Europe also occurred in the U.S. and if the company had
intercepted and recorded data from Wi-Fi systems in this country.
Here’s the answer I received from Jill Hazelbaker a director of
corporate communications at Google:

“”Hi Eric [sic], we mistakenly collected this data in the U.S.
as well as everywhere we drive the street view cars. Thanks,
Jill

“My understanding from numerous discussions I’ve had with many
legal and security experts is that it’s illegal in the U.S. to
record information transmitted over a Wi-Fi network, even if the
network is unencrypted.”

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