Google has always caught the eye of authorities for its data collection practices and in a similar case, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is facing a potential threat in an unprecedented corporate wiretapping case.
As many as 22 people sued Google for capturing private data through their Street View Cars from private Wi-Fi networks. The San Francisco federal courthouse has two hard drives locked up that are likely to validate the claims of the opposition. If the personals holding Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) responsible succeed in pinpointing their personal data, it might just help the lawyers to go ahead with billions of dollars in claims.
This is not the first time when a tech giant is accused of tracking or capturing personal data and if Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) manages to get through these accusations, it will join Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) in evading privacy infringement charges.
According to Susan Freiwald, University of San Francisco School of Law, “You have to show that you were the victim. If they don’t, they why should they get the money?” The victims simply need to identify their personal communication irrespective of the fact that whether it harmed them or not.
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) hasn’t got much success in the legal fight and the company tried everything to block the lawsuit claiming that the federal Wiretap Act didn’t apply to its data collection practices. A federal judge earlier ruled that the company has to work with opposition lawyers to identify the contents of the hard drives. If the claims comes through, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) might end up paying up to $10,000 to every Wi-Fi user counting to millions of Americans who have their data accidentally captured.
Earlier, the European Union has asked Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) to offer more concessions in its EU deal otherwise it may end up with legal fines amounting to $6 billion.
This article has been written by Prakash Pandey.
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