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Google, wireless networks, and ethics...

No, this isn't article about the facts surrounding the Google interception of wireless data while collecting information for Google StreetView. Rather, it is about the question, "If something isn't illegal, is there really a problem?"

As most know, Google "inadvertently" collected information from Wi-Fi connections. Discovered in Europe, the technology involved was used worldwide. So what is Google's responsibility in this situation? According to a CSO Online article by Tony Bradley,



I am one of the first to slam users who fail to take steps to lock down their wireless networks. But does a failure to do so imply that a responsible organization like Google should use this omission as an excuse for collecting data? No, and I don't think they are.

Where the law doesn't cover an act, ethics usually does. Ethics is defined as,

the body of moral principles or values governing or distinctive of a particular culture or group(Dictionary.com)
I add to this that the body of ethics includes actions that legislators haven't yet passed laws to formalize into a lawful or unlawful status.

So any organization or individual who accidentally obtains information culturally considered private, considered the property of another, has a responsibility to do two things. First, the process whereby the property was obtained should be reviewed to minimize incorrect collection in the future. Second, the property's owner should be notified of the incident and the property returned. In the case of electronic property, the collecting entity should provide evidence of the property's destruction.

An analogy is the finding of a wallet containing money, credit cards, and the owner's contact information. What is the finder's responsibility? Legally? Ethically?

I don't believe Google intended to do anything wrong. And I don't believe the owners of the unprotected wireless devices should bear all the blame. Ethics govern how we should treat each other, how we interact and protect each other's interests. Even in the absence of a law, culturally specific ethics provide guidelines about how to act in the situation in which Google found itself. If Google acted according to those guidelines, then they should be left alone. If not, then...

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This is a kin to a bank leaving their vault open during business hours and someone strolling by and walking in and taking money. It is still theft, having said that I do think those that left their wireless systems open were crazy. Unfortunately not everyone is tech savy or knows someone who is.

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Archive Category: Commentary
Keyword Tags:  google interception of wireless data   ethics

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