A woman in Massachusetts has filed a class action suit against Google for snooping into email sent by people who do not have Gmail accounts to those that do, and using the information gleaned to sell targeted advertising.
Debra L Marquis filed a class action suite on behalf of Massachusetts residents who do not have Gmail accounts but claim to have had their email scanned when sending messages to Gmail addresses. "In order to target advertisements to Gmail users," the suit alleges, "Google intercepts electronic communications to and from Gmail users with a device, without prior consent of the non-Gmail users", which would be a violation of a Massachusetts wire-tapping law.
According to the suit, Marquis is an AOL account holder. On behalf of the class, Marquis is seeking damages of $100 (£62) per day for each violation, or $1,000, whichever is higher, as well as punitive damages. The suit also seeks an injunction preventing Google from violating the specific Massachusetts law.
For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see Massachusetts woman sues over Gmail snooping on CNET News.
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