“Please explain how, after
testing the [software] before its launch, Google was unaware that the
software
was able to collect [user data] from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks,” the
states
said in a letter sent to Google on Wednesday.

He added that the 37 states
will investigate Google “vigorously and aggressively.”

The company has apologized
for its data collection practices but insists it did not break the law. 

The data collection point was
Google’s Street View vans, which take photographs for its mapping application.

Blumenthal, a Democrat, is a
contender for Connecticut’s Senate seat in 2010. 

”Street View cannot mean ‘complete
view,’” Blumenthal said earlier
this year. “Google must come clean.” 

A Google spokesperson offered
this comment as a response on Wednesday: “As we’ve said before, it was a mistake for us to include code in our software that collected payload data, but we believe we did nothing illegal. We’re continuing to work with the relevant authorities to answer their questions and concerns.”