[LINK] Google faces $50 million lawsuit over Android location tracking

[Roger Clarke]

G'day RC

At 11:45 +1000 2/5/11, Richard Chirgwin wrote:
>My more detailed response to the Gizmodo "don't worry, be happy".
>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/05/02/device_data_collection/

Off-list.

Great stuff!

Qualifications to 'Great stuff!':

-   it's published at a .uk URL, but refers to Aust statutes without
     making clear in the text that you're doing an IANAL legal analysis
     in a jurisdiction other than the UK

-   the "several issues [you have] with this" don't include the capacity
     of Google, Apple, Microsoft and/or assorted others, singly, or in
     combination with their 'strategic partners' (e.g. Acxiom), or indeed
     with one another, to exploit highly intensive collections of data
     about not just individuals, but large numbers of them

-   "The maximum penalty [for such a breach of the Telecomms Act] for
     an individual is two years' jail", but the AFP abjectly failed to
     prosecute Google re its clear breach of the Act in the Wifi case,
     and is strenuously opposing APF's FOI request for the (second?)
     opinion that it used to justify not proceeding, i.e. if you're a
     big company, you can cheerfully ignore the TA as well as the PA

-   there are a few people who are very good on this stuff and need
     to be directly addressed, some on-link, some not, e.g. Irene Graham,
     Brendan Scott, Holly Raiche, David Vaile, Phil Argy.  Will they
     recognise this as one they really do need to have a crack at?

Regards  ...  RC2

-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
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Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University