Back in April of 2010, Google was busted using their Google Street View cars to collect Wi-Fi data from areas they passed through. Google initially stated they only collected publicly available SSID and MAC Address data -- then later acknowledged that they were collecting snippets of actual transmitted data -- though Google insisted they did so accidentally, and only from unsecured hotspots. Several studies subsequently found that little to no useful data was collected, given collection vehicles automatically changed channels roughly five times a second -- and also faced physical obstacles and interference.

Despite Google ultimately being pretty straightforward about screwing up, and the fact the data was neither useful or complete -- Google faced numerous lawsuits over the screw up. Those lawsuits were ultimately packed into one large lawsuit brought by attorneys general from thirty different states. Though it's unofficial at the moment, anonymous insiders say that Google has now settled that case for $7 million:There are of course significantly worse privacy violations occurring daily (including by the government), yet somehow Google's hoovering up data from unsecured hotspots received the lion's share of attention.