Joffe v. Google, Inc.
Joffe V. Google, Inc | |
---|---|
Court | United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit |
Full case name | Joffe v. Google, Inc. |
Argued | June 10, 2013 |
Court membership | |
Judge sitting | James Ware |
Joffe v. Google, Inc. is a federal lawsuit between Ben Joffe and
Background
In 2007, Google launched its
Facts
August 2010 cases were transferred to the judicial panel on a multi-district litigation to the
District Court
The court had to address whether data transmitted over unencrypted Wi-Fi networks is an electronic communication that is readily accessible to the general public. Court determined that data transmitted over an encrypted Wi-fi Network is not readily accessible to the general public. This means that whatever information Google was housing was done illegally, without the consent of the owner of the network. The exemption does not apply to Google's conduct. The exemption applies to radio communication, not electronic communication.[3]
Circuit Court
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's holding that the Wiretap Act covers the interception of unencrypted Wi-Fi communications. The court reasoned that such communications did not fall under the ordinary definition of "radio communication" because they were not primarily auditory. Furthermore, such communications did not fall under the "readily accessible to the general public" exception because, even unencrypted Wi-Fi communications are (1) geographically limited, and (2) accessible only with "some difficulty" by "the "general public", because most of the general public lacks the expertise to intercept and decode payload data transmitted over a Wi-Fi network."[4]
U.S. Supreme Court
Google attempted to appeal to the United States Supreme Court, [5] however, it declined to hear the case thus ultimately affirming the District's Court decision. [6]
References
- ^ Jon Byous (April 2003). "Java Technology: The Early Years". Sun Microsystems. Archived from the original on May 30, 2008. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
- ^ Jon Byous (October 2011). "Justia Dockets & Filings". Retrieved May 12, 2014.
- ^ James Ware (September 10, 2013). "United States Court of Appeals for The Ninth Circuit" (PDF). Retrieved May 12, 2014.
- ^ "United States Court of Appeals for The Ninth Circuit". Electronic Privacy Information Center. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
- ^ Kevin Poulsen (April 1, 2014). "Google Takes Wi-Fi Snooping Scandal to the Supreme Court". Wired. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
- ^ Greg Stohr (June 30, 2014). "Google Rebuffed by U.S. High Court on Privacy Lawsuit". Bloomberg. Retrieved July 1, 2014.