Klobuchar urges Google to address privacy concerns

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U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar sent a letter to Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt Thursday seeking clarification after the company acknowledged storing private data from unsecured home networks.

Last week Google disclosed that it had inadvertently collected information on individuals and families that could include Web pages, e-mail message content, passwords, and other personal information as part of its Street View mapping campaign.

“Google’s collection of personal information raises numerous privacy questions,” Klobuchar said. “Privacy is a founding American principle. To maintain its trust with the public, Google needs to be clear about how it plans to protect the privacy of individuals whose data has been collected and stored.”

Google had collected the data over the past three years while compiling photos for the Street View map feature. When the Google system came across an unencrypted network, it was programmed to collect any information travelling over the network.

Klobuchar is a member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet.

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