Google Cops to Taking Private Data

It’s not paranoia if Google is really snooping on you: Google engineering chief Alan Eustace admitted on Friday in a blog post that Google had inadvertently collected private data from non-password protected Wi-Fi networks in Europe, the U.S., and other parts of the world. The admission comes after intense scrutiny in Europe over the Streetview software—the Google map application that takes pictures of neighborhoods for maps—and a deep mistrust of Google overseas. Two weeks ago, Google officials said certain data had been collected to help improve mapping products, but straight-up denied that actual information stored over networks was collected by the company. Now, Eustace reversed the earlier statement and said, “We are profoundly sorry for this error and are determined to learn all the lessons we can from our mistake.”