Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on June 7 urged Google to “come clean to the American public” on whether the search engine illegally collected data in the state from personal and business wireless computer networks for its mapping service, becoming the first U.S. state to join in what has become an international controversy, reports the Associated Press. The controversy stems from the search engine’s Street View feature, which provides pictures of neighborhoods. Last month, Google representatives acknowledged they had mistakenly collected data over public Wi-Fi networks in more than 30 countries. During a news conference, Blumenthal said the data collection could give Google access to personal eMail messages, passwords, and web browsing histories, though he had no reports of any problems. “People have legitimate expectations that private information will be kept private,” he said. “These drive-by data sweeps may violate not only those expectations, but also possibly the law.” Authorities in Germany and Australia already have launched their own investigations into the matter…
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