Google refuses to turn over Wi-Spy data to Connecticut AG

Google has refused to turn over personal data collected inadvertently by its Street View cars, according to a statement from Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D).

“I am disappointed by Google’s failure to comply with my information demands. We will review any information we receive and consider whether additional enforcement steps — including possible legal action — are warranted," Blumenthal said.

Google revealed in May that its Street View cars had downloaded a trove of data including e-mail messages and passwords from unsecured private wireless networks. The Federal Communications Commission said last month it is investigating whether Google broke laws that ban electronic eavesdropping.

The Federal Trade Commission ended its probe of the incident in October after Google pledged to improve its privacy practices, a decision panned by Blumenthal at the time. Blumenthal pledged to continue with his own probe of the incident even after assuming office in the Senate in January.

Last week Blumenthal said Google was refusing to turn over the downloaded data despite allowing Canadian authorities to review it, forcing him to issue a "civil investigative demand," which is basically a subpoena. Friday was the deadline to comply with the order.

“Access to information Google improperly collected from unsecured wireless computer networks may be needed to prevent a repeat," Blumenthal said. 

"Google’s story has changed from claiming it only collected fragments to acknowledging possible capture of full e-mails, making review of the data even more urgent."

"As we have said before, we are profoundly sorry for having mistakenly collected payload data from unencrypted networks. As soon as we realized what had happened, we stopped collecting all WiFi data from our Street View cars and immediately informed the authorities," said a Google spokesperson in an e-mailed statement.

"We did not want and have never used the payload data in any of our products and services. We want to delete the data as soon as possible and will continue to work with the authorities to determine the best way forward, as well as to answer their further questions and concerns."

Google declined to comment beyond the statement.

Blumenthal promised to "scrupulously safeguard the confidentiality of any information that we review," indicating he plans on pursuing the matter further.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), who will become chairman emeritus of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the next Congress, has indicated he thinks the breach was intentional.

Scrutiny on the incident has increased across the globe, with South Korean authorities raiding Google's Seoul offices over the raid in August. Italy, Spain and Australia are also investigating the incident.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report Blumenthal's statement.