Did Google test Street View software and did the company sell information it accidentally collected over public Wi-Fi networks for its mapping service?
Those are some of the answers Attorney General Richard Blumenthal wants from the search engine giant.
Connecticut is of 37 states, including New York, Florida, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Texas, to ask the Internet search company what's been done with the information.
“If Google tested this software, it should have known all along that Street View cars would snare and collect confidential data from homes across America,” Blumenthal said. “Now the question is how it may have used -- and secured -- all this private information.”
Google said in May it inadvertently collected the data in more than 30 countries while photographing for Street View.
The AGs also want names.
“We are asking Google to identify specific individuals responsible for the snooping code and how Google was unaware that this code allowed the Street View cars to collect data transmitted over WiFi networks,” Blumenthal said in a news release.
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A Google spokeswoman said Wednesday that the company is still working with authorities and has a meeting scheduled with Blumenthal on Friday. The company maintains that it has not broken any laws.
The Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate says Google could have access to personal e-mails, passwords and web browsing histories and he's prepared to take legal action if necessary.
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