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jakeXT

(10,575 posts)
Sat Sep 27, 2014, 01:50 PM Sep 2014

Google Wi-Fi Roundup Has Lawyers Chasing Landmark Jackpot

Data from two hard drives locked up in the San Francisco federal courthouse may make or break an effort to hold Google Inc. (GOOG) to account for what privacy advocates call an unprecedented corporate wiretapping case.

If 22 people who sued the company can pinpoint their personal data in a massive cache of communications that Google’s Street View cars captured from private Wi-Fi networks, their lawyers may be able to seek billions of dollars of damages from the the world’s largest search engine owner.

If they come up empty-handed, an outcome the company that pioneered search optimization is betting on, the case will join a stack of failed privacy lawsuits accusing Google, Apple Inc. (AAPL), Facebook Inc. (FB) and other technology companies of tracking, capturing or sharing personal information.

“You have to show that you were the victim,” said Susan Freiwald, a law professor at University of San Francisco School of Law. “If they don’t, then why should they get money?”


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-24/google-wi-fi-roundup-mistake-has-lawyers-eyeing-jackpot.html

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