Germany "Horrified" That Google's Collecting Publicly-Available Data

from the your-new-world-order-has-a-pretty-rainbow-logo dept

German authorities launched a new fit of privacy hysteria last week after discovering that Google's Street View cars are not only taking photographs -- they're recording the publicly-available router MAC addresses and SSIDs seen as the cars travel past Wi-Fi hotspots. UK and European politicians had already been up in arms about Americans wandering the streets taking pictures of citizens and completely non-secretive government buildings, and now Germany's data protection chief is supposedly "horrified" by the discovery that Google is also collecting public wireless hotspot data. Of course a number of companies and individuals (like Skyhook Wireless and war drivers) have been doing this exact thing for years, but because it's Google -- somehow hysteria reigns.

Neither German authorities or those covering the story seem able to say how precisely an aggregate collection of public data will be used for nefarious purposes. The assumption simply is that Google has somehow figured out a way. The Register for instance informs readers that Google's "uniquely cavalier approach to privacy" and "potential ability to cross reference the information raises additional concerns." Yet the report seems unable to tell readers what those concerns are, instead just assuming that Google must be doing something mischievous, and quoting CEO Eric Schmidt as saying users "shouldn't worry about privacy unless they have something to hide." Of course what Schmidt actually said in that interview with CNBC was somewhat less sinister:

"If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place. But if you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines like Google do retain the information for some time, and we are all subject to the Patriot Act, and it is possible that that information may be made available to the authorities."

Though Schmidt does veer awfully close to the surveillance state meme of "if you don't have anything to hide you've got nothing to worry about," in context he's simply saying the obvious: that if you want information kept private -- don't share it -- given public data these days is collected and by proxy easily accessible to law enforcement.  With the outcries over Street View taking photographs of your front door, there's nothing being collected that users can't already see should they walk by. With Google's collection of Wi-Fi data, there's again nothing being collected that isn't publicly available. MAC addresses (and in this case we're just talking about hotspot MAC addresses) are changeable, and users can hide their SSID if they don't want the world to see it.

That said, how the aggregate data is used by such a large corporation is very important, and people should push Google to be as transparent as possible -- but there's a difference between asking reasonable questions about Google's data collection practices and just assuming the worst possible scenario. Google isn't publishing this data -- and two different blog posts explain how much data they're collecting, why it's being collected, and how it's being used largely to aid in GPS triangulation and local search. Though clearly from there they'll feed this data into the heads up displays of Google shock troops clad in black gunmetal body armor -- who can then carry out Google's master plan of taking over the planet using your Linksys details.

Filed Under: germany, google street view, privacy
Companies: google

Canadian City Asks Google To Reshoot Street View Shots To Get Rid Of Crime Scene

from the permanent-record dept

We've seen all sorts of governments complaining about aspects of Google's Street View offering, but here's a first. Reader Joe points out that the city of Windsor, Ontario, has asked Google to come back and reshoot a certain location, because the current images capture a "murder crime scene" with police tape, police car and (apparently) bloody bandages. The city is upset because they feel it reflects poorly on the area and "That's not Windsor." They're also upset because the Google cameras came through during a labor strike that resulted in lots of garbage being seen on the streets. It makes you wonder if towns and cities are going to start to "prepare" for Google Street View cars coming through and make sure that everyone is on their best behavior...

Filed Under: google street view
Companies: google

Advocacy Group Claims Google Maps Is A Tool Of Child Predators

from the but-think-of-the-children! dept

We've been talking about the popularity of "technopanics," where the press (often spurred on by "advocacy" groups) push out a "but think of the children" campaign to worry about how child predators are using this or that kind of technology -- when the reality is that there is often little to no evidence that this is actually happening or a serious threat. Studies eventually show that the press blew the "threat" way out of proportion, but by then it's too late. The public already believes that there's a huge threat. This isn't to say that there aren't some folks who have used these sites to prey on children -- or that people shouldn't be aware that it's a risk. But most kids seem to have no problem ignoring or brushing off the extremely rare solicitations they might get -- usually because their parents or educators taught them to be cautious around random strangers.

So, with studies finally showing the lack of a threat on social networks, it seems that technopanic advocates have had to move on to things like gaming consoles. The latest is even more ridiculous. Apparently an advocacy group is trying to warn people about the supposed dangers of Google's Street View technology. Apparently, they're worried that child predators will use the tech to scope out where children live, because Google Street View might possibly maybe have caught kids playing outside. Is there any evidence that this has actually happened? Nope. Is there any reason to think that this makes sense for a child predator as compared to actually getting in a car and driving around and seeing what's happening out in broad daylight? Nope. It's just fear, fear, fear!

Amusingly, I found this story from Stephen Shankland at News.com, who points out that the same day that advocacy group put out its fearmongering press release, another group was announcing how you can use its new service, built on Google Maps, to see if any registered sex offenders live near you. So, while we have one group warning about how Google Maps can be used for evil, another group is pointing out how it can be used to see if there are any threats in the neighborhood.

Filed Under: google maps, google street view, technopanic, think of the children