In today’s Quick Hits, we check in on Google’s class-action lawsuit, discuss Facebook’s new safety tools, and share the story of how one doctor exposed a patient online.

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Judge Deciding if Google Wi-Fi Snooping is Spying

Last year, Google unintentionally collected Wi-Fi packet data via the company’s Street View vehicles, and the company is still feeling the heat for its transgression. Currently, Google is the subject of a class-action lawsuit from users who claim the company invaded their privacy. Now, a judge has posed a key question, which may determine whether or not Google will face a settlement. According to Wired, the judge in the case “has asked each side to define ‘radio communication’ (.pdf) as it applies to the Wiretap Act, and wants to know whether home Wi-Fi networks are ‘radio communications’ under the Wiretap Act.” The judge’s determination on this issue will have a significant impact on the case.

Facebook Rolls Out New Safety Tools

Facebook recently rolled out several new security tools and tweaks to its existing safety portals to help parents, kids, and teachers understand more about the importance of online safety. The company is also planning to roll out something called “two-factor authentication,” which “will require the user to enter a code when logging onto Facebook from a new device. Facebook hopes to protect accounts from unauthorized access by unknown users.”

Doctor’s Facebook Message Reveals Patient Identity

A Rhode Island doctor has been reprimanded and fined after she inadvertently identified a patient via a Facebook message. According to MSNBC, the physician “wrote on Facebook about some of her clinical experiences at Westerly Hospital, without using patient names or intending to reveal patient information. But, the board says, one patient’s injuries were such that an unidentified third party was able to identify the person.” This story illustrates the importance of using caution when sharing content on Facebook and other social media websites. Even though the doctor didn’t name the patient, she offered enough information to violate the individual’s privacy.

New Start-Up Offers Social Tracking for Businesses

Forbes privacy blogger Kashmir Hill writes about a new New York start-up called Local Response, which “sucks up location information from lots o’ social media outlets — including photo sites by tapping into embedded geo-data in digital photos — to reveal whether a user has been to a particular business.” The businesses can then elect to respond to the customers who shared their check-in, in order to entice them to visit the business again.

EU Study Shows 25% of Kids Don’t Use Privacy Settings Online

According to a new EU study on child safety online, 25% of children don’t use privacy settings, and 20% of those who have public profiles share their phone number or address openly. These numbers show that there are still many young Internet users who don’t understand the importance of Internet privacy and online reputation management.