Eric Schmidt says Google should not be prosecuted for wi-fi records --Updated--

Eric Schmidt says Google should not be prosecuted for wi-fi records

www.timesonline.co.uk

The chief executive of Google admitted to major privacy mistakes today as regulators prepare to launch probes into the company for recording personal communications sent over the unsecured wireless networks in people’s homes.

“A relatively small of data was collected and this was not authorised,” he said. “We stopped driving immediately. There appears to be no use of data. It’s sitting on a hard drive.” He added: “We will not delete [the collected data] until ordered to do so.”

(visit the link for the full news article)



[edit on 19-5-2010 by prionace glauca]

Eric Schmidt said that the company had not authorised the activity of its Street View cars, which have been collecting snippets of people’s online activities, broadcast over unprotected home and business wi-fi networks.

He said that the company should not face prosecution over the incident, saying that nobody had been harmed by the gathering of people’s information. “No harm, no foul,” he said.

First of all I was surprised that Google even admitted to such a flub. Maybe a whistleblower was going to come with the information and knowing so Google took matter in its own hands.

Now with a investigation getting launched into this matter, Google wants to stop it all costs. They are playing this as a "minor" infraction and promise it wont happen again.

I don't buy their crap. What got me more pissed off was when Schmidt goes onto say this....

“We’re continually struggling with this question,” he said. “We have to decide what is and what isn’t appropriate in the privacy sphere. Each government and company will decide differently.”

Struggling with what question may I ask, Privacy should be anything that is in a person's home. If a person can not hold onto his own private space he calls home, what else is left out there?

Are you tired of Google yet?

------------------------------------UPDATE-------------------------------------------

German prosecutors are investigating Google Inc. on suspicion of violating privacy laws by recording fragments of people's online activities through unsecured Wi-Fi networks.

Hamburg prosecutor Wilhelm Moellers told the news agency DAPD that his office launched the investigation after a complaint was filed against undisclosed Google employees over the incident last Friday.

"The tapping of data is believed to have taken place over unsecured Wi-Fi networks in connection with 'Street View'" activity, Moellers said. "We will above all have to clarify whether the offense was deliberate."

Now Germany has launched a full investigation into this matter regarding if this attempt was deliberate or not.

Some how I believe Google will get off scott free, thanks to its affiliation & bankrolled personnel not listed as Employees. Only time will tell.

www.timesonline.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)


Germany Starts the Investigation

[edit on 19-5-2010 by prionace glauca]

reply to post by prionace glauca


Eric Schmidt is a porn peddling Nazi, so nothing he does or says suprises me. Remember when he was head of Novell, until Microsoft kicked their behinds in selling servers? Google sucks, but you thread will probably get deleted because you said something negative about the Gods of Google.

reply to post by CheeseyMonkey


Well I hope the thread doesn't get deleted. It just really pisses me off that is entity has the nerve to pick up information from our own houses and now doesn't even want to delete that information until told so. On top of that he has the audacity to say this...

“We’re continually struggling with this question,” he said. “We have to decide what is and what isn’t appropriate in the privacy sphere. Each government and company will decide differently.”

reply to post by prionace glauca


Well I fully expect that Google is using all the data it collects on our search habits etc.. to blackmail people in power to do Google's bidding. It will only get worse as people realize that advertising on the web produces little results in the vast majority of cases. Then once Googles revenue stream disappears they will just come to the average user and say what is it worth to you if your wife never finds out you went to the xxx.com website.