• Buzz Earns Google A Class-Action Lawsuit

    Date: 2010.02.20 | Category: Google Buzz

    Issues surrounding Google’s latest social network tool, Buzz, haven’t apparently settling down, the search company is now facing a class action lawsuit for its alleged privacy invasion after facing the wrath of users over its privacy features.

    A Harvard Law School student, named Eva Hibnick, 24, has filed a class action legal suit against Google over the charges of breaching her privacy after it launched Buzz last week.

    Hibnick decided to go for filing the lawsuit only after she found herself automatically signed up with the Buzz social networking site. “I feel like they did something wrong. They opted me into this social network and I didn’t want it”, she said.

    The lawsuit, which purportedly represents all Gmail users, alleged that the newly launched social network from Google opted in all the Gmail users without asking for their permission, and thereby inadvertently shared their private details with others.

    The complaint reportedly cites the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Federal Stored Communications Act, along with California statutory law.

    Gary E. Mason, one of her lawyers from the Mason Law Firm LLP, said they weren’t expecting millions of people getting hundreds of dollars each, but commitment from Google that they wouldn’t do it again when they launch a new product.

    Originally published on ITProPortal.com