Across the World, Law Enforcement Takes Tough Stand with Google and its Street View

Connecticut’s attorney general this week became the latest law enforcement official to order Google to give a detailed accounting of the information its Street View cars surreptitiously sniffed from unsecured Wi-Fi networks over a three-year period. In a letter to Google officials, the attorney general demanded they provide additional details about the data collection, including what type of information was intercepted, the duration and location of the snooping operation, and where the data is stored now. He joins officials in Missouri, France, Germany, Spain, Canada and Australia in ordering the search giant to be more forthcoming about the privacy violation. Google has said it was the result of beta software that was accidentally installed in Street View cars as they snapped pictures in more than 30 countries from 2007 until earlier this year. At least seven civil lawsuits have been filed against Google, and agencies in Canada, Australia and throughout Europe have opened investigations. U.S. lawmakers have called on the Federal Trade Commission to conduct its own inquiry. A Google spokeswoman said company officials are cooperating. “We’re working with the relevant authorities to answer their questions and concerns,” she wrote in an e-mail. Law enforcement officials, meanwhile, have indicated they are investigating whether Google has broken any criminal laws.