AUGUSTA — Maine will receive more than $100,000 as part of a multi-state settlement with Google over its collection of data from unsecured wireless networks while taking photographs for its Street View mapping service.
Maine was one of 38 states and the District of Columbia in a $7 million settlement agreement that bans unauthorized data collection, requires training of Google employees on privacy and includes a nationwide campaign to educate consumers on protecting their private information, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office.
Google maintained it was unaware the network user data was being collected and has since disabled or removed the equipment and software used to collect the data from its Street View vehicles.
Maine’s share of the settlement funds may be used to cover the costs of litigation or be used for future consumer protection or privacy enforcement and consumer education, the AG’s office said.
Other states participating in the settlement are Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have one? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login to participate in the conversation. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.