The Wall Street Journal reported that the Federal Communications Commission is investigating whether Google broke federal laws when its Street View service collected personal data over wireless networks. Google has admitted that its street mapping cars picked up personal information from unencrypted residential wireless networks, including e-mail addresses and passwords, but claims the data collection was an inadvertent mistake.
The news of the FCC’s investigation comes only a few weeks after the Federal Trade Commission decided to close their investigation into the Street View data collection. The FTC ended their investigation after Google promised to improve their privacy practices and delete all collected data.
The FCC’s investigation started after the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a public interest research center, filed a complaint urging the FCC to act. EPIC argued that Google could be liable for violations of the federal Wiretap Act, the federal Communications Act, the Pen/Trap Act, and 18 U.S.C. §1030. However, many have questioned whether the FCC has the authority to act under any of these statutes.
Meanwhile, other entities jumping in to try to hold Google accountable include legislators, numerous state Attorney General offices, and individuals filing class action suits.
The difficulties presented in trying to find Google liable for these privacy violations come as no surprise to those who have argued that the United States’ online privacy laws are outdated, unclear, and insufficient. For example, a group of privacy advocates wrote a letter to the FTC this year arguing that U.S. online privacy laws are “in disarray” and have a “piecemeal” nature. Perhaps more surprisingly, a group of privacy advocates (including the ACLU and EPIC) and industry leaders (including AOL and eBay) have joined together to urge Congress to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which was passed in 1986 and, according to the group, “has not been significantly updated since.” This high-profile investigation, and the difficulties in holding Google accountable, should encourage lawmakers to listen.