The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will this week hear arguments aiming to bring sanctions against Google over its collection of personal data from WiFi networks via its Street View mapping project, The Recorder reports. "Although these home networks were not password-protected, the communications transmitted over them were private and not broadcast for public consumption," Elizabeth Cabraser writes in her appellate brief. "Such communications are protected from prying eyes by the Wiretap Act, as amended by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act." Google attorneys say the data upload was unintentional and not illegal because anyone can access unencrypted WiFi signals.
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