Beyond Good and Evil: Google, Wi-Fi, the Wiretap Act…

July 26, 2011 by Rick Sanders | Category: Blawg, Blog | Tags: Google, privacy, Wi-Fi, Wiretap Act

…and One Seriously Undefined Term

Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss with Leave to Amend, In re Google, Inc., Street View Electronic Communications Litigation, Case No. 10-MD-02184 JW (June 29, 2011).

Google had moved to dismiss for failure to plead a claim for which relief may be granted.  After a lot of legal hair-pulling (the judge’s own), Google’s motion is denied as to the Wiretap Claim (which is the subject of this post).*

*  It was granted as to the state-law claims, some on grounds of preemption (which is not without controversy), and one for a straight up failure to state a claim.  Google is currently trying to lodge an interlocutory appeal.  There is no automatic right for such appeals, though–it’s up to the Court of Appeals, preferably with the lower-court judge’s blessing.  Last I heard, it had received the judge’s blessing, and the Court of Appeals is now considering whether to take the appeal.

I have fought my way through this decision, and, despite all the criticism I’ve read about it, I think the judge did a good job with an impossible task.  The question is whether Wi-Fi signals a … Read More»