google street view Joffe v. Google privacy street view

Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Google in Street View Case, Denies Rehearing

The Ninth Circuit Court has denied Google's petition for rehearing en banc in Joffe v. Google, a suit brought by individuals whose private Wi-Fi communications, including passwords and other sensitive information, were intercepted by Google. The appeals court previously found that Wi-Fi "payload" data are not exempt from protection under the Wiretap Act. EPIC filed an amicus brief in the case, arguing that Wi-Fi communications "are not 'broadcast' like traditional radio communications; they are sent from one device to another directly and there is nothing about the typical configuration of a Wi-Fi device to suggest that users expect that their communications between these devices would be 'readily accessible to the general public.'" Google recently reached a $7-million settlement with the attorneys general of 38 states and the District of Columbia over the Street View collection. For more information, see EPIC: Joffe v. Google and EPIC: Investigations of Google Street View.

December 30, 2013| Share: