Google tells lawmakers it never used Wi-Fi data


Google Inc. is telling lawmakers that it never dissected or used any of the information that it accidentally sucked up while collecting data about public Wi-Fi networks in more than 30 countries, reports the Associated Press. In a letter to three key members of the House Commerce Committee, the company apologized for collecting fragments of eMails, search requests and other online activities over unencrypted Wi-Fi networks. The company got the information while photographing neighborhoods for its “Street View” mapping feature. Google said it was trying to gather information about the location, strength and configuration of Wi-Fi networks so it could improve the accuracy of location-based services such as Google Maps and driving directions. Going further and collecting snippets of information traveling over those networks “was a mistake,” Pablo Chavez, Google’s director of public policy, wrote in the letter…

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