Google fined EUR100,000 over collection of smartphone Wi-Fi data. The French National Commission for Information Technologies and Civil Liberties (CNiL) told Google last May that it had to stop collecting details of users' Wi-Fi networks and content that passed over them.
It now says that Google has failed to meet those demands. The camera-carrying cars used to take the pictures that make up Google's Street View mapping service collected information on the location of Wi-Fi networks. It then emerged that the cars also collected some of the information passing over the networks, including usernames, passwords and entire emails. Though the collection of that information has stopped, the CNiL has said that Google's collection of information from smartphone users involves the same kind of privacy violations.
"[Google] has not refrained from using the data identifying access points of Wi-Fi individuals without their knowledge," said a CNiL statement in French, in a machine translation. France Slaps Google with a $141K Fine Over Street View Data Collection - Kashmir Hill - The Not-So Private Parts. Google handed down record fine for violating French privacy laws. Google Street View Car Searched by French Regulators. Google Street View is in trouble with authorities again.
This time, one of its vehicles was halted and searched yesterday near Paris. Google's Street View service became highly controversial when Germany learned that Google was (inadvertently, it claims) collecting publicly broadcasted SSID information and MAC addresses from Wi-Fi networks in the country. According to Yann Padova, secretary general of the French National Commission for Computing and Civil Liberties (CNIL), the search was conducted to "verify that they stopped collecting Wi-Fi data.” Furthermore, French regulators aren't too happy about the fact that Google resumed taking photos around France before it was determined whether the company complied with the orders to limit Street View data collection.
CNIL said it had inspected two other Google cars, but wouldn't say what the inspectors found. Google spied on British emails and computer passwords. Google investigated over household data privacy breaches. The UK privacy watchdog has launched an investigation into Google after it admitted copying household computer passwords and emails from unsecured wireless networks, when taking photographs for its Street View mapping service.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said it would investigate, in light of a report in Canada that the company had potentially violated the privacy of thousands of Canadians. Similar findings are also emerging from other countries. Google's admission came after Canada's privacy commissioner found Google had captured highly sensitive personal information with its Street View mapping cars. Seven privacy regulators in other jurisdictions have also analysed the data and revealed the full extent of what was copied, with reports due shortly from many others. Fears over the data Google had collected first surfaced in May, with the company initially saying the it was only "fragmentary". French find e-mail passwords in Google Street View data. 21 June 2010Last updated at 11:16 Google could face prosecution in France for gathering sensitive data Google scooped up sensitive data such as passwords when putting together its Street View service, suggests an early look at the information.
The examination was carried out by French data protection agency CNIL as it decides whether to prosecute the search firm for gathering the data. The data was gathered as Google logged wi-fi hotspots to help it develop location-based services. Previously, Google said there was "no harm, no foul" in collecting the data. Deleting data CNIL, like many other data protection agencies worldwide, asked Google to hand over copies of the data it gathered to find out if privacy laws had been breached. CNIL chairman Alex Turk said Google handed the data to the agency on 4 June following an official request and it was now in the process of combing through the reams of information.
Google is handing data over to data protection authorities around the world.