Google View

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Recommended: How technology affects ethics

Privacy is considered to be subjective and can be defined by people in various ways however most will agree that privacy is an extremely important core value. Privacy is a way of protecting the personal information of someone. With advancements in technology and people using the internet, more than ever, society has been force to change their views on privacy to deal with the changing technology. One innovative piece of technology that has recently been causing people to rethink their privacy is Google View and how it was being used to conduct Wi-Fi vacuuming. This paper explores the ethical and legal issues associated Google’s Wi-Fi vacuuming and its impact on privacy. Included is an explanation of the technology and a discussion of the primary legal and ethical issues involved.

In order to understand how Google has been conducting Wi-Fi vacuuming first we must discuss Google View technology and how it is used. Google View was introduced in a few major US cites on May 2005, as a feature of Google Maps, it was later integrated throughout the world (10). Google View allows a user to select a location, Google then provides the user with panoramic images of the various locations in close proximity to the selected locations. This allows a person to view the map as if they were actually standing in the chosen location. In order to create the Google View technology Google needed many workers and vehicles equipped with the proper cameras. On each of these vehicles, there are nine directional cameras for 360° views, GPS units for positioning, and three laser range scanners for the measuring of up to fifty meters 180° in the front of the vehicle (10).There are also 3G and Wi-Fi antennas for scanning 3G and Wi-Fi hotspots (10). These Wi-Fi...

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...llection/srvc=home&position=also>.

8. GeoLocation Google. Geolocation API. 20 March 2010. 18 June 2010 .

9. Google Privacy Center. June 2010. 17 June 2010 .

10. "Google Street View." 10 June 2010. Wikipedia. 17 June 2010 .

11. JOHN E. REDSTONE, KARL H.SCHULZ, and DEAN M. BASTILLA verse Google INC. No. 3:10-cv-00400-JPG -DGW. US District Courth for the Southern District of Illinois. April 2010.

12. Musil, Steven. "Michigan man dodges prison in theft of Wi-Fi." 22 May 2007. CNET News. 18 June 2010 .

13. Swift, Mike. "Google admits vacuuming up data from Wi-Fi networks, apologizes." 14 May 2010. Mercury News. 17 June 2010 .

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