U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco upholds federal court’s ruling
Firm is being sued by users who claim their privacy was violated by Google Street View cars which gathered information via Wi-Fi networks
Google acted illegally when it collected data on people’s online activities through their Wi-Fi systems, the U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled – leaving them wide open to damages claims which could total billions of dollars.
The court’s decision is a setback for the web giant, which gathered the information via its Street View cars, and other firms which rely on collecting large amounts of data.
Campaigners hailed the ruling, saying it was a ‘landmark decision for internet privacy’ which established that Wi-Fi networks were private.
The decision announced yesterday by the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco is the latest twist in Google’s long-running battle to avoid legal action over the date collection, which it claims was a mistake which has now ended.