Forum Views () 
Forum Replies ()  
 
 
Read more with google mobile :
South Korea police probe Google over location data collection
|  
 
 
 
 
	
	
		
Edition:
		
U.S.
		
		
	
	
		
			
				
					
					
						
					
				
				
					
					
						
					
				
				
					
					
						
					
				
			
		
	
	
	
		
			
				
				
			
		
	
 
	
 
	
 
 
	
		 
		 
		
	        
		
	
	
    	
		 
		 
		
	        
		
 
	
 
	
		
Article
    
Comments (0)
	
	
    	
		 
		 
		
	        
		
 
	
		 
		 
		
	        
		
	  
 
 
 
	
Follow Reuters
		
		
Facebook
		
Twitter
		
RSS
		
YouTube
		
		
	
               
      
		
		
				
					Read
			
		
		
		
Sony says 25 million more accounts at risk in new data hack
	2:12am EDT 
	
With bin Laden dead, Washington state man finally shaves
	02 May 2011 
	
Bin Laden killing will embarrass authorities: Pakistani media
	12:36am EDT 
	
UPDATE 4-Sony says 25 mln more users at risk in second data hack
	02 May 2011 
	
U.S. commandos knew bin Laden likely would die
	02 May 2011 
	
	
		
		
      
               
      
      
               
      
		
		
				
					Discussed
			
		
		
		
165
			Obama to make statement late Sunday, White House says
106
			White House releases longer Obama birth certificate
103
			Donald Trump calls U.S. leaders ”stupid”
	
		
		
      
               
      
		
		
				
					
					Watched
					
			
		
		
                                 	
					  
                      
     
			
Osama bin Laden dead
		Mon, May 2 2011
                                 	
					  
                      
     
			
Fire ants form rafts to defy floods
		Tue, Apr 26 2011
                                 	
					  
                      
     
			
Osama bin Laden is dead: Obama
		Mon, May 2 2011
		
		
       
	
		
		
	
	
    	
		 
		 
		
	        
		
 
		
	
South Korea police probe Google over location data collection
	
		
        
	     
	        
                
                    	Tweet
					
                     
                
Share this
	            
                          
                 	
	             
	                
	                
	                By Hyunjoo Jin
SEOUL (Reuters) - Google Inc's Seoul office was raided on Tuesday on suspicion its mobile advertising unit AdMob had illegally collected location data without consent, South Korean police said, the latest setback to the Internet...
	                
	                
	            
Email
			
Print
			
	    
	
               
      
 
      
               
      
	
Related News
	
		
		
RIM launches new BlackBerry Bold smartphone
Mon, May 2 2011
Bin Laden was found at luxury Pakistan compound
Mon, May 2 2011
FTC prepping Google probe: report
Fri, Apr 29 2011
Sony faces global legal action over data theft
Thu, Apr 28 2011
Apple denies tracking iPhone customers
Wed, Apr 27 2011
	
      
	
Analysis & Opinion
	
		
In the Playstation debacle, Sony plays a serious game
	
The uncanny valley of advertising
	
	
               
      
    
Related Topics
        
            
                
Technology »
                
Media »
                
        
    
      
	
Stocks
	
		 
		 
 
 
               
      
 
      
               
      
 
                     
      
 
 
        
By Hyunjoo Jin
        
        SEOUL | 
        Tue May 3, 2011 3:36am EDT
        
    
SEOUL (Reuters) - Google Inc's Seoul office was raided on Tuesday on suspicion its mobile advertising unit AdMob had illegally collected location data without consent, South Korean police said, the latest setback to the Internet search firm's Korean operations.
The probe into suspected collection of data on where a user is located without consent highlights growing concerns about possible misuse of private information as the use of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets increases.
Such information is viewed as crucial for the burgeoning mobile advertising sector as it helps personalize online ads according to individual preferences or locations.
Last month, Apple Inc defended its use of iPhone location data, but denied that it was tracking the movements of customers, while consumer electronics giant Sony is grappling with a massive data breach.
"Every technology has a flip side. Location-based services benefit customers by helping them find nearby restaurants, gas stations and other places with their smartphones," said Kim Kwang-jo, a computer science professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
"But it could potentially violate consumer privacy. There are loopholes in location-based services, and companies should get consent from customers to collect location data."
"We suspect AdMob collected personal location information without consent or approval from the Korean Communication Commission," a South Korean police official said.
A Google spokesman confirmed that the police had visited its Seoul office and told Reuters the company was cooperating with their investigation.
Google and Apple have been targeted by U.S. lawmakers over their protection and use of consumer data from cell phone applications such as where users are located.
Google executives have talked about the ability to target advertising to users based on location.
Google bought AdMob, a leading global mobile ad firm, last year for $750 million.
Seoul police also raided the offices of local portal Daum Communications over similar suspicions, Daum said on Tuesday.
Daum said location data collected by its mobile ad services was not illegal as it was anonymous and could not be used to track individuals.
PROBES
Google has already been the subject of a series of probes in the United States, Britain, France, Singapore, Switzerland and South Korea over data collected by its controversial fleet of "Street View" cars.
Seoul police concluded in January that Google collected location information and other data from 600,000 wireless Internet users in South Korea with three Street View cars.
Google tightened its privacy policy in the wake of revelations that Google's Street View cars, which take panoramic pictures of city streets, inadvertently collected data from unsecured wireless networks in more than 30 countries.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is also considering a broad investigation into Google and reportedly alerting high-tech firms to gather data ahead of a probe of Google's dominance of the Internet search industry.
South Korea's top Internet portals filed a complaint with anti-trust regulators last month claiming Google was unfairly stifling competition in the mobile Internet search market of one of the world's most wired countries.
In South Korea, Google is one of smallest players in the fixed-line Internet search market, but it enjoys a near 20 percent share in the mobile Internet market, backed by its Android platform.
Google, which controls roughly two-thirds of the global search market, is a stellar performer in the booming smartphone and tablet market, as device makers such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics increasingly adopt its free Android operating platform to counter heavyweight Apple.
Global technology firms, including Microsoft, are trying to rein Google's growth.
The global smartphone market is forecast to grow 58 percent this year and Android will account for 39 percent of the market, according to research firm Gartner. In the tablet market, Apple's share will gradually decline to 47 percent by 2015 from 69 percent this year, with Google's share forecast to rise to 39 percent from 20 percent now, Gartner said.
(Additional reporting by Miyoung Kim and Jonathan Hopfner in SEOUL and Kenneth Li in NEW YORK; Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
			
Technology
			
Media
			
		
        
	     
	        
                
                   		Tweet this
					
                
Share this
	            
                       	Link this
                 	
	            
                       	Digg this
	                
	            
Email
			
Reprints
            
	    
	
 
	 
    
     
    
    
    
     
    
    
We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters.
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
    
Add yours using the box above.
    
Social Stream (What's this?)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
		
	
		
	
		
	 
	
	
		
	
		
	
		
	
		
	
	
 
	
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
	
© Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters
Editorial Editions:
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
 
Reuters
	
Contact Us
	
Advertise With Us
	
Help
	
Journalism Handbook
	
Archive
	
Site Index
	
Video Index
	
Reader Feedback
 
	
Mobile
	
Newsletters
	
RSS
	
Podcasts
	
Widgets
	
Your View
	
Analyst Research
Thomson Reuters
	
Copyright
	
Disclaimer
	
Privacy
	
Professional Products
	
Professional Products Support
	
Financial Products
	
About Thomson Reuters
	
Careers
Online Products
	
Acquisitions Monthly
	
Buyouts
	
Venture Capital Journal
	
International Financing Review
	
Project Finance International
	
PEhub.com
	
PE Week
	
FindLaw
	
Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service
 Reuters on Facebook
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
	 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
 
 
 
 
Other News on Tuesday,  3 May 2011 Pakistan vital to defeating al Qaeda: White House
|  
Bin Laden wife killed in raid: White House
|  
Inconceivable Osama had no support in Pakistan: White House
|  
Israel says bin Laden killing triumph for democracies
|  
100 missing after boat capsizes in Congo: radio
|  
Jordan hopes bin Laden's death ends terror era
|  
Nortel gets court nods for Google's stalking horse
|  
Sony freebies help soothe anger at data breach
|  
Eerie links between Harry Potter, bin Laden
|  
Michael Jackson doctor trial delayed to September
|  
Navy Seal book spurs Hollywood interest
|  
NBC news to name Curry as co-host of Today  
Osama bin Laden movie project already in works
|  
Hard Rock memorabilia exhibiiton to tour U.S
|  
Beaver maker Jodie Foster sees more directing ahead
|  
Mariah Carey renews wedding vows after giving birth
|  
Lawyer for money manager Ken Starr pleads guilty
|  
Pakistan says not part of U.S. operation to kill bin Laden
|  
Twenty-five fighters killed, wounded near Afghan-Pakistan border
|  
Canada's Conservatives score massive election win
|  
Bin Laden killing will embarrass authorities: Pakistani media
|  
Fighting rages in Libya's Western Mountains
|  
Searchers find second Air France crash black box
|  
U.S. commandos knew bin Laden likely would die
|  
U.N. chief Ban hails bin Laden death as watershed
|  
Sony says 25 million more accounts at risk in new data hack
|  
SK Tel, KT suspend iPad 2 online sale less than week after debut
|  
Twitter seeks to buy TweetDeck for up to $50 million
|  
South Korea police probe Google over location data collection
|  
Twitter users ignore ban on posting Canada results
|  
Apple shares shrug off rebalancing of Nasdaq-100
|  
NetLogic revenue misses on China weakness; shares fall
|  
Appeals court upholds Phil Spector murder conviction
|  
Idol host Ryan Seacrest preps music show for NBC
|  
Rick Springfield arrested for drunk driving in Malibu
|  
Kirsten Dunst to star in Bachelorette comedy
|  
Judge Judy star to remain on show through 2015
|  
Pakistan has bin Laden wife, children in custody
|  
Pakistan says had no knowledge of U.S. bin Laden raid
|  
Afghan Taliban say insufficient evidence bin Laden is dead
|  
Pakistan, U.S. vow to fight terrorism after bin Laden death
|  
U.S. may release photos of bin Laden burial at sea
|  
UK arrests five in terror alert near nuclear site
|  
Syrian forces crack down on protesters in Banias
|  
No proof Pakistanis knew bin Laden location: U.S.
|  
Apple updates iMac line with new processors
|  
RIM says Bing to be preferred search, maps app
|  
Nokia's chairman to step down next year
|  
RIM bringing Angry Birds to PlayBook
|  
MetroPCS boosts customer growth
|  
North Korea hackers behind attack on S.Korea bank: prosecutors
|  
Renren's audit committee chair quits ahead of IPO
|  
Prince William back at work after royal wedding
|  
New Orleans' Jazz Fest thrives, despite competition
|  
Book of Mormon leads with Tony nominations
|  
Eerie links between Harry Potter, bin Laden
|  
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro  
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found  
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever  
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production  
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time  
AMD to Start Production of piledriver  
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs  
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia  
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air  
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch  
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent  
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up  
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform  
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis  
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets  
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights