Attorney General Josh Stein Asks Google for Answers

RALEIGH, NC (October 11, 2018) — Attorney General Josh Stein wrote Google CEO Sundar Pichai to demand answers about the company’s security and safety. This week, Google announced a security breach to its Google+ network.

“North Carolinians have a number of good reasons to be concerned about their privacy online,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “I want to hear from Google about what happened, what they’re doing to protect people, and how they’ll prevent it in the future.”

In his letter, Attorney General Stein also asked Google to provide information about:

• The type of information that was exposed,

• The number of North Carolinians whose data was exposed,

• Any business users in North Carolina that were impacted,

• Information about how the incident occurred, when Google learned about it, and how Google is investigating it,

• Why there was a delay in making the incident public,

• Privacy policies in place,

• Plans, policies, and procedures that Google uses to audit its security,

• Google’s efforts to notify affected North Carolinians,

• Steps taken to protect North Carolinians’ profiles and mitigate harm to those people,

• Any law enforcement investigations into this matter, and

• Privacy assessments and reports Google has prepared.

Attorney General Stein has asked for a response before Oct. 24, 2018.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

More from Attorney General Josh Stein on data privacy:

• Attorney General Josh Stein Asks Facebook for Answers

• Attorney General Josh Stein Reaches $148 Million Settlement with Uber over Data Breach

• Attorney General Josh Stein and Rep. Jason Saine Introduce Legislation to Strengthen Protections Against Identity Theft