Google's Punishment? Lecture Those They Snooped On

theodp writes "When Aaron Swartz tapped into MIT's network and scooped up data from one non-profit company, the U.S. Attorney threatened him with 35 years in prison and a $1 million fine. So what kind of jail time did 38 Attorneys General threaten Google with for using its Street View cars to scoop up passwords, e-mail and other personal information by tapping into the networks of their states' unsuspecting citizens? None. In agreeing to settle the case, the NY Times reports, Google is required to police its own employees on privacy issues, lecture the public on how to fend off privacy violations like the one Google perpetrated, and forfeit about 20% of one day's net income. Given the chance, one imagines that Aaron Swartz would have happily jumped at a comparable deal." The fine being $7 million. At least EPIC isn't as cynical and thinks the outcome was positive.

Not a valid comparison

[geekoid]

the AG offered a deal for zero (0) prison time, MIT refused to accept it.

How many people computer rooms did Google break into? none.
How many people system did they hook an unauthorized computer to? none.
How many systems did they put unauthorized software on? None.

These two case aren't remotely the same.

Re:Just because...

[Todd Knarr]

If I did that, what law would I be breaking? If I'm not obstructing the sidewalk, not going onto your property and not doing anything to bypass any privacy measures you've put in place (eg. by using a ladder to see over the fence you've put up), exactly what law would I be breaking standing there watching your house?

I think you'll find if you check that it's not a violation of any law. Only if you've taken some steps to insure privacy can I be touched for bypassing those measures. Celebrities have been fighting this for years. It's how the paparazzi get those candid photos and don't end up in jail.

Bullshit premise is bullshit.

[GodInHell]

Google grabbed (small bites of) data out of the air that had been broadcast on unencrypted channels, in the process of collecting potentially useful information about networks broadcasting their SSIDs. When confronted by authorities Google investigated the allegations, found them to be true, and cooperated in isolating and destroying the data collected.

Aaron Schwartz entered onto MIT's property, hiding a laptop under a box, for the express purpose of downloading specific documents which he knew to be offered under a restricted license. When MIT added security measures to stop Mr. Schwartz, he updated his program to adapt to and circumvent the new methods and continued his (admittedly illegal) downloading. When approached by uniformed police, Mr. Schwarz ran in an attempt to avoid arrest.

Google was offered a penalty a several millions dollars (20% of own days income) and to commit its employee time to . . . what is essentially community service. Google accepted. Google was probably threatened with steeper penalties, but we won't ever know that, because Google did not try to use the press as a weapon against investigators.

Mr. Schwarz was offered a light sentence of a few months in prison, but refused because he didn't want to be branded a Felon. He was threatened with up to 35 years in prison and a fine of $1 Million dollars. Mr. Schwarz wanted to bring public pressure to bear to force the government not to hold him accountable for his actions, so he made public every offer and threat made by the prosecutors.

Let us compare this to a third group - the civil rights marchers of the 1960s in Selma. There, a group of citizens gathered on the public way and attempted to commit a completely legal act -- walking to their state capital together. The police ordered the crowd to disperse, and then began beating them with clubs, releasing attack dogs on them, and attacking them with water cannons. Many were hospitalized. John Lewis, the march organizer, was beaten with a club - receiving an injury to the head that caused his skull to fracture, then placed in jail and charged with a nuisance offense. This day has been named "bloody Sunday" because of the breadth and severity of the injuries inflicted by the police on law abiding citizens.

See the differences?

Yes, it's legal, since 1934. Here's why

[raymorris]

One time I was setting up a microphone to record someone giving a speech. The long (and broken) microphone cable acted like an antenna, picking up wireless signals, so I was recording local radio traffic instead of the speech I was trying to record. Note there was no radio receiver hooked up - just a long cord plugged into a recorder. You can even hear wireless transmissions sometimes by just having a coiled cord connected to headphones. The cord serves as antenna and the coiling of the cord tunes it to a particular frequency.

If you've ever recorded static, you've recorded someone's wireless transmission. That's why in 1934 it was explicitly made legal to receive anything broadcast - because we've all done it on accident. If it were illegal to receive what someone is transmitting, it would be illegal to connect a long cord to headphones, because that will pick up "static", which is someone's transmission (your neighbor's wifi sounds like an intermittent buzzing). So it was perfectly legal for Google to receive wifi simply because it's unavoidable. Using an answering machine according to the instructions can record your neighbor's wifi as buzzing - the telephone wiring is the antenna.

Note that the long established law does NOT allow you to DECRYPT an encrypted transmission once you receive it. That would be "circumventing technical measures" under DMCA etc. In 2001, an attempt was made to make it illegal to DISCLOSE the content of certain transmissions. Last I heard, that was being challenged at the Supreme Court.