Photo: Josh Bancroft / Flickr

Google has recently, along with Facebook, been held under scrutiny for its unethical infringement on privacy law within various countries. There has been some upheaval over Google’s acquiring of personal information through the process of mapping certain areas for the Google Street View application on Google maps.

Google has been using special multi-angle cameras to photograph streets all over the world for the past few years, allowing Google maps users to navigate pretty much any street on most of the earth, as though they were actually in it.

Issues faced

The problems arose when the Google Street View camera cars began mapping wi-fi transmission hot spots in Canada and recently the UK. According to Google the Google cars unintentionally picked up personal information on residents and businesses through the wi-fi connections. Google says it had no intention of using the payload data which consisted of millions of e-mails, wi-fi addresses, and passwords, for commercial use or gain. The information was merely picked up through the wi-fi tracking process due to negligent observation of the mapping system.

Consequences

The UK information commissioner said that Google will not face any fine or punishment but is responsible for deleting all the acquired information and rectifying the problems within the system at once. Google humbly apologized for the breach and will delete all the acquired information as soon as it is ‘legally cleared to do so’. The UK’s ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) has declared that it will be administering strict moderation on Google’s systems through a team of qualified auditors. Google also announced that it would that it would appoint a head of privacy and ensure that all its engineering teams followed strict privacy protocols.

Public reaction

Google Street View has been criticized in a number of countries where residents have not welcomed the new technology on the basis of privacy invasion. It is now possible for anyone to have their picture or home removed from Google Street View if required. Italy and Germany have declared that Google must allow people to opt out of the mapping process if they desire to do so. Czech Republic has currently banned Google from taking any more pictures. Google Street View is active in 20 countries around the globe at present.

Photo: alex4981 / Flickr

At the end of last week, Google unveiled a secret project it has been working on – developing self-driving cars. What’s crazy is that the cars actually work and, furthermore, the company has been testing the technology for some time already, with high mileage being clocked by the vehicles.

How does it work?

Naturally everybody wants to know how it works, and if I were Larry or Sergey, I’d say, ‘Like magic’. On a serious note, though, the Google self driving cars – mostly Prius, now, with one Audi TT having been spotted – are fitted with sensors that look like wind-based turbines on the roof, as well as cameras, so as to sense the distance of other cars.

Based on this feedback, the cars would react the way a human would. The Google self-driving cars have already clocked up more than 140,000 miles (184,000km) and have only been involved in one accident, where another driver rear-ended the ‘Google Prius’. How’s that for proof that human error outweighs technological failing?

Why?

Many people have been asking why Google is doing this. If I were Larry or Sergey, I’d say ‘Because it’s awesome! Why else?’ Thankfully I’m not, since that would be in opposition to my judicial duty to improve shareholder value.

The reason Google has cited for pursuing this project is social good, with a financial payoff being an awesome eventuality, if that ever pans out. Sebastian Thrun, a seasoned Google engineer who is the project lead on the self-driving cars, but was also developed the Street View Mapping system says: ‘According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.2 million lives are lost every year in road traffic accidents.’ He continued, saying, ‘We believe our technology has the potential to cut that number, perhaps by as much as half.’

A noble reason, indeed, and for Google’s part, even if this never becomes a profitable part of their business, these self-driving cars are a step in the right direction – since they will free up our commute times so that we can surf Google more, generating more revenue for them. Having said that, I can’t wait for self-driving bicycles so that I can pretend I’m working out, when in fact, my legs are just moving to the motion.

Photo: mroach / Flickr

The reason we started this shopping questionnaire series was to answer questions that frequently came up for folks who were considering a device but were unsure about where to start looking.

The uncertainty mostly stemmed from other substitute devices they were also considering buying, or wondering whether they needed the device in the first place. With smartphones with GPS built in popping left right and centre, many people wonder if it’s even worth buying a dedicated satnav device anymore.

Question 1: Do you drive a lot?

This is a practical question. If you own a car, but use it in a very limited area, you’re better served just using Google Maps or a dedicated address book to find where you’re going on the odd occasion you head out to uncharted territory. It’ll save you a pretty penny. But if you do, indeed, drive a lot, buying a GPS device may be for you.

Question 2: Do you have a powerful smartphone with built-in GPS?

Between Google turn-by-turn navigation for Android handsets, Nokia Ovi maps for the Finnish giant’s phone, and the brilliant TomTom satnav app for the iPhone, there are a lot of mobile phone-based ways of navigating a city. If you don’t own these, or would prefer a standalone device, then buying a GPS device may be for you.

Question 3: Does it make financial sense?

As strange as it may sound to those who live and die by satnav devices, they’ve never really been a must-have gadget. Seriously. Google Maps on your mobile phone’s browser can get you where you’re going. A cheap map book can get you where you’re going. Asking people can get you where you’re going. But if you can afford it – genuinely afford it – and you value the convenience, buying a GPS device is wise.

Yes, no, yes… then yes! Do it!

If you answered yes, no, yes to questions 1, 2, and 3, respectively, then you should jump in with both feet and buy a satnav device immediately. If however, you found you don’t drive a lot, you have a competent smartphone, and it doesn’t really make financial sense to buy one, why then would you do it?

When shopping for devices, always ask yourself the practical questions that will reveal the true nature of why you desire a purchase. Shopping for a satnav device is a particularly good example of something that has the potential to go to waste if you’re not the ideal candidate for buying one. If you are the ideal candidate, check this guide for some of the more notable GSP devices on the market.

Photo: Stock.Xchng

So it seems that Google’s apology for stealing wi-fi data isn’t enough and the Federal Trade Commission has been requested to have a look at the matter by lawmakers and a California-based advocacy group.

Why?

It came as a shock to most people who innocently viewed the Street View cars as improving their Google Maps experience. However, it has now become public knowledge that the Internet giant accessed and stole date from unencrypted wi-fi networks unknowingly. The probe has been requested in attempt to see whether collected data by Google violated privacy laws. It is believed that the data which Google collected over the years may have included emails, whose content could have ranged from anything to passwords or other confidential information.

The letter to the FTC

The probe has been initiated by Reps. Ed Markey, Democrat, and Joe Barton, Republican who signed the letter to the FTC addressed to Jon Leibowitz, Federal Trade Commission Chairman. In the letter Barton and Markey ask how Google committed such a heinous act and who had access to the wi-fi data. The letter has been made available to the public. Though the FTC accepted receiving the letter the party at  fault has refused to comment on the matter any further, only stating that they were working with government agencies and trying to quickly solve the matter.

Europe also after Google

Photo: Google

It also seems that a European probe is on the cards with prosecutors from Hamburg looking into the matter in Germany, and agencies from Italy and Spain looking for any broken privacy laws. UK officials have also asked for a probe into the matter, looking at the same issue, and a spokesperson for the search giant has reported that the Internet search engine giant is complying with all concerned parties.

It’s seems to be a bittersweet moment in time for Google right now as the great minds knock their heads together their I/O conference paving the way for a better Internet. And at the same time they are in trouble with the law. Either way the Internet giant has made its intentions known to encrypt searches for future reference in light of the current embarrassing situation or hopefully they don’t find themselves in this situation again.

Photo: Stock.Xchng

It seems that Google was responsible for indirectly stealing people’s Internet search history over unprotected wireless networks. They have since apologised and also admitted that they have egg on their face and that they failed badly one of their blogs.

Blame StreetView

Google became an accidental spy through their StreetView vans which they use to update to their Google Maps and also find public wi-fi networks. All this was uncovered when a German company requested the search engine giant to check whether they weren’t invading people’s privacy through the wi-fi data which the StreetView vans were collecting. And the findings were astounding and embarrassing for Google to say the least.

An apology

Alan Eustace, senior VP of engineering and research at Google, wrote a heartfelt regretful letter accepting that they had in fact indirectly, while unknowingly, saved payload data from unprotected wi-fi networks. Eustace also added that only small unusable bits of data or ‘fragments’ were found and they never used the data in any harmful manner or in any of the Internet giant’s innovative products.

Photo: Google

It seems that during Google’s three-year ‘theft spree’ from 2007 they collected all types of data from unprotected wi-fi networks like emails, search histories, online video histories and the like. The StreetView vans were however unable to collect encrypted information like personal files or financial data.

Google under the privacy spotlight

This latest discovery has put Google’s wi-fi data collection under even more scrutiny. The search giant has been under fire from numerous groups claiming that their wi-fi data collection practices invade peoples’ privacy. However, Google has been quick to defend themselves, arguing the data which the vans collect is used to improve to ‘location-based service’.

This latest revelation is no cause for great concern, but it’s good to see someone is keeping an eye out and challenging the potential ‘ruler’ of the Internet.