South Korea May Arrest Google Execs Over WiFi Data Collection

By Matt McGee

Published: January 6, 2011 at 1:46 pm

South Korean police are planning to file criminal charges against Google executives over the collection of personal data via unsecured wifi networks.

According to IDG News/PCWorld, the country’s national police agency has determined that Google acted illegally when it gathered personal data as part of its Street View mapping service. A police official says they’re interviewing Google officials in South Korea, but wouldn’t confirm if arrests are expected.

Police say they plan to file criminal charges against the Google executives that ordered the data collection, but that may never happen — Google has maintained all along, and other national investigations have concluded, that the data collection was an accident and not ordered by anyone.

South Korea is one of about 20 countries that’s been investigating the data collection. You can find the latest information about other investigations in our article, Google Maps Privacy: The Street View & Wifi Scorecard.

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About the author

Matt McGee

Matt McGee joined Third Door Media as a writer/reporter/editor in September 2008. He served as Editor-In-Chief from January 2013 until his departure in July 2017. He can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee.