The group are actually suing Google and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California is in the process of hearing the complaint made by the nine students.
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| Students Sue Google Over Email Snooping |
Currently Google’s Gmail is a component of Apps for Education, which a suite of free, web-based education tools made available worldwide but is mainly used by students under 18. A Google representative has explained how the company scans and indexes emails from all Apps for Education users for advertising purposes.
In seeking class-action certification, the students could potentially be part of a case that leads to a pay-out to millions of Gmail users.
There has been a lot of controversy over Google’s Gmail surveillance. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) highlights that even if Gmail users agree to the terms of use, non-subscribers who email them haven’t and therefore have not consented to have their communications analyzed. “Non-subscribers have not consented and indeed may not even be aware that their communications are being analyzed or that a profile may be compiled of him or her,” states an FAQ on EPIC on the subject.
We will keep you informed of any developments surrounding this case.
[Image via elisa-dbi]
SOURCE: http://mashable.com/2014/03/19/students-sue-google-gmail/
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