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Hello I have very urgent essay and its very short
The attached picture is what you need to base on and attached
word is the article
Max 2 pages please
Solution
Google Collects Unprotected Wireless Network Information
Reference: George
Reynolds: Ethics in Information Technology. Page 170
Google’s
Street View maps allow users to zoom into a location on a map and view actual
images
of houses, shops, buildings, sidewalks, fields, parked cars, and anything else
that can
be
photographed from the vantage point of a slow-moving vehicle. It’s a
remarkable tool for
those
trying to find an auto repair shop, a post office, or a friend’s house
for the first time.
Google
launched Street View in a few cities in the United States in May 2007. It
gradually
expanded
to additional U.S. cities and then to other cities around the world. In August
2009,
Google
began collecting data for Street View in several German cities. Germany,
however, hasstricter privacy laws than other countries, and prohibits the
photographing of private property andpeople unless they are engaged in a public
event, such as a sports match. As a result, Googlehad to work closely with the
country’s Data Protection Agency in order to comply with Germanlaws in
the hopes of getting its Street View service for Germany online by the end of
2010.
In
April 2010, a startling admission by Google provoked public outrage in Germany
and
around
the world. It resulted in government probes in numerous countries, as well as
several
class
action lawsuits in the United States. In response to queries by Germany’s
Data ProtectionAgency, Google acknowledged that, in addition to taking
snapshots, its cars were also sniffingout unprotected wireless network
information. Google reported that it was only collecting serviceset identifier
(SSID) data—such as the network name—and the media access control
(MAC)address—the unique number given to wireless network devices. Google’s
geo-location servicescould use this data to more accurately pinpoint the
location of a person utilizing a mobile device,such as a smartphone. The
company insisted that it was not collecting or storing payload data(the actual
data sent over the network).
The
German Federal Commissioner for the Data Protection Agency was horrified and
requested
that Google stop collecting data immediately.93 Additionally, the German
authoritiesasked to audit the data Google had collected. Google agreed to hand
over its code to a thirdparty, the security consulting firm Stroz Friedberg.
Nine days later there came another admission:Google had in fact been collecting
and storing payload data. But Google insisted that ithad only collected
fragmented data and made no use of this data.94 A few days later,
Germanyannounced that it was launching a criminal investigation. Other European
nations quicklyopened investigations of their own.
By
early June, six class action lawsuits claiming that Google had violated federal
wiretapping
laws
had been filed in the United States.96 In its defense, Google argued that
collecting
unencrypted
payload data is not a violation of federal laws.97 Google explained that in
order tolocate wireless hotspots, it used a passive scanning technique, which
had picked up payloaddata by mistake. The company used open source Kismet
wireless scanning software that wascustomized by a Google engineer in 2006.98
Google insisted that the project’s managers wereunaware that the
software had been programmed to collect payload data when they launchedthe project.
Finally, Google argued that the data it collected was fragmented—not
only was thecar moving, but it was changing channels five times per second.
However, a
civil lawsuit claimed that Google filed a patent for its wireless network
scanning
system in
November 2008 that revealed that Google’s system could more accurately
locate a
router’s
location—giving Google the ability to identify the street address of the
router. The moredata collected by the scanning system, the lawsuit contended,
the higher the confidence levelGoogle would have in its calculated location of
the wireless hotspot.
In the fall of
2010, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ended its investigation,
deciding not to
take action or impose fines. The FTC recognized that Google had taken steps
to amend the
situation by ceasing to collect the payload data and by hiring a new director
of
privacy. But by
that time, 30 states had opened investigations into the matter.102 During the
course of these
and other investigations, Google turned over the data it had collected to
externalregulators. On October 22, the company announced that not all of the
payload data it hadcollected was fragmentary. It had in fact collected entire
email messages, URLs, and passwords.
In November,
the U.S. Federal Communications Commission announced that it was
looking into
whether Google had violated the federal Communications Act.
Some analysts
believe that Google’s behavior follows a trend in the Internet industry:
Push
the boundaries
of privacy issues; apologize, and then push again once the scandal dies
down. If this
is the case, Google will have to decide, as the possible fines and other
penalties
accrue, whether
this strategy pays off.
Discussion
Questions
1. Cite another
example of information technology companies pushing the boundaries of
privacy issues;
apologizing, and then pushing again once the scandal dies down. As long
as the
controversy fades, is there anything unethical about such a strategy?
2. Google
states that its intention in gathering unprotected wireless network information
was
simply to be
able to provide more accurate location data for its Street View service. Can
you think of
any reason for Google to have gathered this data? Is there any potential
service Google
could consider offering with this additional data?
3. Enter the
street address of your home or place of work to find what photos are available
in Street View.
Comment on the accuracy of Street View and the content of the photos you
find. Does this
sort of capability delight you or concern you? Why?
|
Name
|
Role
|
Researcher
|
Date
|
Article - Citation
|
L Reynolds, G. Google Collects Unprotected Wireless Network
Information. In Ethics in Information Technology.
|
Cornock, M. (2019). Top 10: Pros and cons of Google Street
View Maps. Retrieved from
https://mattcornock.co.uk/digital-literacy/top10-googlestreetview/
·
The Google street view map is discussed in
detail as part of discussion questions.
·
It was stated by Google that its
intention in collecting data for wireless network information was to provide
the users with most accurate street view.
·
The Google can track user data to
improve services in specific area.
·
The site can gather user data to know
how people use their Google and spend time online.
·
The additional data can help Google
provide better navigation system to its users.
Hart, L. (2018). Facebook:
A Case Study in Ethics. Retrieved from https://www.cmswire.com/digital-marketing/facebook-a-case-study-in-ethics/
·
This case study was used for discussion of
a question.
·
Another example of information Technology Company pushing the
boundary of privacy concerns, apologized for the privacy issues is facebook.
·
After that, it made the same problem again after the scandal was
diminished from the news.
·
The facebook was criticized by the people because the users were
of the view that the company is not taking adequate measures to improve users’
privacy.
·
Facebook shared private information of users with Datalogix and
the users were not aware of this.
Musyi, B. Y. (2018). Facebook’s
scandal forces marketers to examine their ethics. Retrieved from
https://www.prdaily.com/facebooks-scandal-forces-marketers-to-examine-their-ethics/
·
For social media, the ethics of information collection should be
monitored strictly.
·
The users share huge amount
of data on websites like facebook, and this data can be a source of threat or
misuse.
·
The analysis of user data by facebook was disappointing for the
consumers.
·
The companies like facebook should use proactive approach in
regard to ethics of consumer research and marketing.
We do not
sell your personal information to anyone. (2019). Retrieved from
https://safety.google/privacy/ads-and-data/
·
It was stated by Google that its
intention in collecting data for wireless network information was to provide
the users with most accurate street view (Reynolds) .
·
However, there are other reasons for
collecting this unprotected data.
·
The site might have collected the data
to improve advertisement service by Google
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