Korean Police Raid Google Offices Seeking Street View Data
The raid is the latest headache for Google ever since the company disclosed in May that it had inadvertently collected more than 600 gigabytes of data, including e-mails and Web addresses, about people’s online activities through unsecured Wi-Fi networks while developing Street View.
The collected data has led to investigations and lawsuits by authorities in several European countries, including Germany and France, and in several states over whether Google’s practices violated data privacy laws.
Street View, launched in 2006, lets Internet users see panoramic street scenes on Google Maps.
Officers from South Korea’s National Police Agency raided Google’s office in Seoul searching for evidence that it may have illegally collected data while preparing for the South Korean launch of Street View, according to published reports. A Bloomberg story said police confiscated materials during the raid.
The police agency said Google collected information on unspecified users through Wi-Fi networks for about six months until May when Google discovered the problem, according to a Wall Street Journal story.
“We intend to find out what kinds of data they have collected and how much. We will try to retrieve all the original data illegally collected and stored through domestic Wi-Fi networks from the Google headquarters,” said a statement from the Korean National Police Agency, according to a New York Times article. The statement said police would “scrutinize” the seized data to see if it violated South Korean telecommunications and privacy laws.
The Wall Street Journal story quoted a Google spokeswoman as confirming that the raid took place and that Google is cooperating with the investigation.
Despite the problems Google Street View has created, the online search giant isn’t backing away from the service. The company said Tuesday that it plans to launch Street View for 20 cities in Germany before the end of the year.