Google can face wiretapping claims in Street View lawsuits, court says A federal appeals court decided Tuesday that Google Inc. can be held liable for violating a federal wiretap law when it collected personal information from Wi-Fi networks while obtaining photographs for Street View. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said data transmitted over an unencrypted Wi-Fi network were not readily available to the public and therefore could not be accessed under an exemption to the federal Wiretap Act. The ruling was a victory for wireless users who brought class-action lawsuits after their private information was accessed by Google's Street View fleets. Street View, launched by Google in 2007, provides users with panoramic, street-level photographs. They are obtained by cameras mounted on Google vehicles that drive public roads. Between 2007 and 2010, the Street View fleet also contained Wi-Fi antennas and software that collected data transmitted by Wi-Fi networks in homes and businesses. The information included the networks" names, the number assigned to the router transmitting the wireless signal, the signal strength and whether the network was encrypted. Such information enables business to provide services to help mobile phone users find nearby restaurants and attractions. But the Google equipment also gathered and stored data from unencrypted networks, including personal emails, usernames, passwords, videos and documents. Google acknowledged the practice in 2010, apologized, grounded the fleet and "rendered inaccessible" the more than 600 gigabytes of data it had gathered from networks in more than 30 countries, the 9th Circuit said. The company also agreed to pay a $7-million fine to settle an investigation by 38 states and the District of Columbia. In defending itself against the class-action lawsuits, Google argued that data transmitted over unencrypted Wi-Fi networks amounted to radio communications that were readily accessible to the public and could be lawfully intercepted. The 9th Circuit disagreed. "Surely Congress did not intend to condone such an intrusive and unwarranted invasion of privacy when it enacted the Wiretap Act "to protect against the unauthorized interception of electronic communications,"" the court said. Wireless transmissions are not readily available "because they are geographically limited and fail to travel far beyond the walls of the home or office where the access point is located," the court said. "Google was only able to intercept the plaintiffs" communications because its Street View vehicles passed by the street outside of each plaintiff's house," the panel wrote. Google said it was "disappointed in the 9th Circuit's decision" and is "considering our next steps." Full FCC report on Google Street View reveals new details Google Street View goes to abandoned island from 007's 'SkyFall'