A Sunshine Coast man is taking Internet giant Google to court for allegedly mining and profiting from information sent to Gmail accounts from non-Gmail users. FILE- In this Thursday, April 12, 2012, photo, a Google logo is displayed at the headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. Google Inc. reports quarterly financial results after the market closes on Thursday, July 19, 2012.
A Sunshine Coast man is taking Internet giant Google to court for allegedly mining and profiting from information sent to Gmail accounts from non-Gmail users.
The lawsuit, filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon, is a proposed class action that, if certified by the court, could potentially include anyone in the province who has ever sent an email to a Gmail account.
It is believed to be the first court action of its kind in Canada.
The statement of claim alleges that California-based Google Inc. intercepts and uses personal information it collects from email sent to Gmail users to avoid paying for the data and to increase its revenues from third-party advertisers by displaying “targeted” ads to consumers based on information received from others.
“Google has failed or omitted to disclose or describe ... the fact and the extent of Google’s interception, copying, retention, review and use of emails sent ... to Gmail account holders,” the statement of claim says.
In doing so, Google has violated the Privacy Act, invaded users’ privacy, violated solicitor-client, physician-patient, pastor-penitent and journalist-source privilege, infringed upon copyright and breached the Competition Act, the statement of claim alleges.
“Google’s actions ... including its interception, copying, scanning, retention and use of private email communications is high-handed, outrageous, wanton, reckless, callous, disgraceful, wilful and entirely without care for (the plaintiff’s) statutory and common law rights,” it says.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
The plaintiff, Sechelt retiree Wayne Plimmer, seeks damages including all revenue or profits obtained by Google as a result of the alleged activities, damages for breach of copyright in the amount of $500 per email, and any other damages assessed by the court.
Plimmer is also seeking an injunction prohibiting Google from engaging in the activities described in the statement of claim without the explicit consent of all parties to email communications, as well as an order certifying the lawsuit as a class action.
Plimmer declined to comment on the suit through lawyer Mike Wagner of Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy.
Google spokeswoman Leslie Church said the company would not comment on the allegations at this time.
Two class-action lawsuits filed in California in June make similar allegations against both Google and Yahoo, accusing the companies of violating California’s Invasion of Privacy Act by intercepting electronic communication without the consent of all parties involved. This is the first such lawsuit to be filed in Canada.
Google’s privacy policy and “terms of service” make no explicit mention of the company collecting and using the content of incoming emails for advertising or other purposes. The company says it collects personal information submitted by the user when signing up for Google services, as well as information derived from the use of those services. This may include search queries, location information, phone and text logs, IP addresses, information about the devices used, and cookies that may identify a person’s browser or Google account, according to Google’s privacy policy.
The information is used to “provide, maintain, protect and improve” Google services and to protect both the company and its users, the privacy policy says.
“We also use this information to offer you tailored content — like giving you more relevant search results and ads,” it says.
However, Google’s privacy policy and terms of service do not apply to people who don’t subscribe to the company’s service.
The lawsuit, filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon, is a proposed class action that, if certified by the court, could potentially include anyone in the province who has ever sent an email to a Gmail account.
It is believed to be the first court action of its kind in Canada.
The statement of claim alleges that California-based Google Inc. intercepts and uses personal information it collects from email sent to Gmail users to avoid paying for the data and to increase its revenues from third-party advertisers by displaying “targeted” ads to consumers based on information received from others.
“Google has failed or omitted to disclose or describe ... the fact and the extent of Google’s interception, copying, retention, review and use of emails sent ... to Gmail account holders,” the statement of claim says.
In doing so, Google has violated the Privacy Act, invaded users’ privacy, violated solicitor-client, physician-patient, pastor-penitent and journalist-source privilege, infringed upon copyright and breached the Competition Act, the statement of claim alleges.
“Google’s actions ... including its interception, copying, scanning, retention and use of private email communications is high-handed, outrageous, wanton, reckless, callous, disgraceful, wilful and entirely without care for (the plaintiff’s) statutory and common law rights,” it says.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
The plaintiff, Sechelt retiree Wayne Plimmer, seeks damages including all revenue or profits obtained by Google as a result of the alleged activities, damages for breach of copyright in the amount of $500 per email, and any other damages assessed by the court.
Plimmer is also seeking an injunction prohibiting Google from engaging in the activities described in the statement of claim without the explicit consent of all parties to email communications, as well as an order certifying the lawsuit as a class action.
Plimmer declined to comment on the suit through lawyer Mike Wagner of Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy.
Google spokeswoman Leslie Church said the company would not comment on the allegations at this time.
Two class-action lawsuits filed in California in June make similar allegations against both Google and Yahoo, accusing the companies of violating California’s Invasion of Privacy Act by intercepting electronic communication without the consent of all parties involved. This is the first such lawsuit to be filed in Canada.
Google’s privacy policy and “terms of service” make no explicit mention of the company collecting and using the content of incoming emails for advertising or other purposes. The company says it collects personal information submitted by the user when signing up for Google services, as well as information derived from the use of those services. This may include search queries, location information, phone and text logs, IP addresses, information about the devices used, and cookies that may identify a person’s browser or Google account, according to Google’s privacy policy.
The information is used to “provide, maintain, protect and improve” Google services and to protect both the company and its users, the privacy policy says.
“We also use this information to offer you tailored content — like giving you more relevant search results and ads,” it says.
However, Google’s privacy policy and terms of service do not apply to people who don’t subscribe to the company’s service.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Google+faces+potential+class+action+over+privacy+concerns/7347013/story.html#ixzz00I9eAJRZ
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