[LINK] Google Wifi Interception Breached US Law
Roger Clarke
Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au
Wed Sep 18 05:49:35 AEST 2013
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E P I C A l e r t
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Volume 20.18 September 17, 2013
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<http://www.epic.org/alert/epic_alert_20.18.html>http://www.epic.org/alert/epic_alert_20.18.html
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[1] Federal Court Upholds Privacy Protection for Wi-Fi Communications
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The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has upheld a lower court
ruling against Google's collection of private Wi-Fi communications in
the company's "Street View" program. The lawsuit, Joffe v. Google,
alleges that Google's ongoing interception of Wi-Fi payload data as
Street View trucks roamed the US violated several laws, including the
federal Wiretap Act. The lower court rejected Google's argument that
interception of communications sent over "open" Wi-Fi networks was
allowed under the Wiretap Act. Specifically, the court rejected
Google's theory that such communications were "readily accessible to
the general public" simply because they were unencrypted. The Ninth
Circuit's ruling and emphasized the importance of protecting the
privacy of electronic communications.
The Ninth Circuit decision made clear that unencrypted Wi-Fi
communications are not "readily accessible to the general public"
under the ordinary meaning of the phrase. These communications are
"geographically limited and fail to travel far beyond the walls of the
home or office where the access point is located." And for nearby
devices, the "payload" data transmitted over a Wi-Fi network is only
accessible "with some difficulty." Even in locations where individuals
can connect to certain unencrypted networks, "members of the general
public do not typically mistakenly intercept, store, and decode data
transmitted by other devices on the network."
EPIC filed a "friend of the court" brief in the case, urging the court
to uphold legal protections for Wi-Fi communications, and discussing
both the intent of the federal law and the operation of a typical
home Wi-Fi network. Many of EPIC's technical arguments, including key
sources, were discussed in the court's opinion. This landmark opinion
resolves a fundamental issue of electronic privacy law in favor of
everyday Wi-Fi users. Google has not announced whether will appeal the
case to the US Supreme Court.
EPIC: Joffe v. Google
<http://epic.org/amicus/google-street-view>http://epic.org/amicus/google-street-view
Ninth Circuit Court: Opinion in Joffe v. Google (Sep. 10, 2013)
<http://epic.org/redirect/091613-9th-circuit-joffe-decision.html>http://epic.org/redirect/091613-9th-circuit-joffe-decision.html
EPIC: "Friend of the Court" Brief in Joffe v. Google (Mar. 30, 2012)
<http://epic.org/redirect/091613-epic-amicus-joffe.html>http://epic.org/redirect/091613-epic-amicus-joffe.html
EPIC: Google Street View
<http://epic.org/privacy/streetview/>http://epic.org/privacy/streetview/
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--
Roger Clarke http://www.rogerclarke.com/
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd 78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
Tel: +61 2 6288 6916 http://about.me/roger.clarke
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au http://www.xamax.com.au/
Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law University of N.S.W.
Visiting Professor in Computer Science Australian National University
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