Illinois attorney general is investigating Google

Posted June 16, 2010 at 5:56 p.m.

By Wailin Wong | Illinois has joined a list of governments in the U.S. and worldwide that are probing Google’s data collection for the search giant’s Street View service.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said Wednesday her office is investigating whether the California-based company gathered personal information from state residents. Street View is used in Google Maps and Google Earth to show photos at the street level, displaying pictures taken by special camera equipment mounted on cars and other vehicles.

The controversy over Street View arose last month, when Google admitted to inadvertently capturing and storing bits of private information sent over unencrypted WiFi networks. This “payload data,” as the information is called, can include e-mails, passwords and browsing activity.


“It is disturbing that Google has been collecting this data since 2007,”
Madigan said in a statement. “We have asked Google to explain in detail
exactly what information it has collected and what it is doing with the
information.”

Madigan said she and her counterpart in Massachusetts, Martha Coakley,
sent a joint letter to Google last week asking the company for
information on the payload data it collected in those two states.
Representatives of Madigan’s office also participated in a conference
call among about 30 attorneys general last week about the issue.

Authorities in several countries, including Australia and France, are
also investigating Google over its Street View data collection. Google
has stopped its Street View vehicles from gathering any type of WiFi
network data and is continuing to work with authorities to respond to
concerns. The company also asked an independent firm to study the issue
and write a report, which was submitted to data protection authorities
last week.

 

16 comments:

  1. Jack Armstrong June 16, 2010 at 10:49 pm

    Oh thank you, Mighty IAG, for saving Illinois citizens from these scoundrels! Oh, wait a minute . . . I thought you were investigating your old man and his shady partner in graft Cullerton?!?!?

  2. Frank Watson June 17, 2010 at 8:35 a.m.

    What a complete WASTE.

  3. libertyville June 17, 2010 at 8:59 a.m.

    There are so many instances of corruption, theft and malfeasance in Illinois politics that the current AG should not have the time to chase exotic issues. The people of Illinois want their politicians to take care of the nuts and bolts of Illinois, not the glitz and bling of the east or west coasts. We have too many career politicians who do not seem to have matriculated above the mope level.

  4. Dave June 17, 2010 at 9:21 a.m.

    Looks like somebody forgot to make a campaign contribution.

  5. DWoods June 17, 2010 at 9:37 a.m.

    With the crime and corruption at an all-time high, you don’t have anything better to do? You need to take a one-way walk.

  6. Dave June 17, 2010 at 9:39 a.m.

    This is a typical case for our do-nothing AG. She does not have to get her hands dirty investigating state corruption. Does she still blame her “small” budget for her inability to prosecute corruption? With a smaller office than Madigan, Cook County AG Anita Alvarez has done 10X as much.
    http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2401532,supervisor-accused-of-stealing-cigs-061610.article

  7. Denny Crane June 17, 2010 at 9:57 a.m.

    How about probing your father!

  8. IIB June 17, 2010 at 10:39 a.m.

    Yes investigate your father
    and how come it’s ok for the govt. to videotape us on the street and collect info on us without our knowledge
    Yeah we know the answer whatever, get your dirty paws out of
    the bank accounts of the few successful businesses out there

  9. Jeff June 17, 2010 at 11:02 a.m.

    “It is disturbing that Google has been collecting this data since 2007,” Madigan said in a statement. “We have asked Google to explain in detail exactly what information it has collected and what it is doing with the information.”
    Does Ms Madigan find the fraud, corruption, stealing, lieing, manipulation and cheating done by elected officals in Illinois equally distrubing?
    Does Ms Madigan find it disturbing that personal information and video taping in public is being done on the streets of Illinois?

  10. Mean Joe June 17, 2010 at 11:11 a.m.

    “It is disturbing that Google has been collecting this data since 2007,” Madigan said…
    I think it’s disturbing that the Democratic machine has ruined this once nice city and state for their own benefit and YOU, Ms. ‘Daddy’s little girl’ have done NOTHING to root out the corruption.
    You are a failure at your job, remember that. Keep your little neck burioed in the sand while daddy’s law frim protects his clients against the taxes needed to balance the budget.
    don’t look up baby girl, it’s almost over…

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  12. worsethanbefore June 17, 2010 at 11:35 a.m.

    Madigan and her old man have got to go.
    I agree with the above poster that said
    “looks like someone forgot a campaign contribution”.
    Typical incompetent, corrupt chicago machine politician.
    I guess she look at her old man and thought there’s just
    too much work and besides, she needs him to keep her job!

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  14. chicagoK June 17, 2010 at 11:54 a.m.

    Illinois is well known as the most politically corrupt state in the world! And Madigan is going after Google??? Put her old man behind bars and the rest of the Democrat Party that has bankrupted the state while lining their pockets! If any news outlet supports Lisa Madigan, for AGing over the most corrupt government, we’ll know that the media is corrupt!

  15. ProbateSharks.com June 17, 2010 at 2:39 pm

    Lisa, Why don’t you probe the PROBate Court of Cook County?

  16. MinisterR June 17, 2010 at 3:46 pm

    Very important stuff. But can we refocus and look closer to home? We have enough corruption here to span multiple life times of investigation. Lisa – you don’t even have to investigate your dad – for now.