Google fined for gathering online data

[Feuer Frei!]

Google has been fined by the French data protection agency for its collection of online data, including e-mail exchanges and passwords, as it mapped urban landscapes for its Street View service. The US internet group was fined €100,000 ($142,000) by the French National Commission for Computing and Liberties (CNIL) after it collected data over unencrypted WiFi networks without the knowledge of internet users.
“The way they collected the data were unfair,” said Yann Padova, secretary-general of the independent regulator.
“CNIL also considers there was a lack of co-operation from Google in terms of the information given about the software within the Google cars,” he added.
The company said on Monday that it was “profoundly sorry” for the collection of data. “As soon as we realised what had happened, we stopped collecting all WiFi data from our Street View cars and immediately informed the authorities,” said Peter Fleischer, Google’s global privacy counsel.
Google said that deleting the data “has always been our priority”, adding it was still studying the decision to see if it would appeal.

“By imposing one of the largest fines ever issued in France, the CNIL is also sending a signal to its counterparts in Europe that data protection authorities should step up their enforcement activities since the same activity occurred elsewhere in Europe,” said professor Joel Reidenberg, an expert on internet privacy at Fordham University in New York. “This is a significant case because it sends a powerful message that the CNIL is serious about enforcement and is willing to use its enhanced authority.”
The French watchdog was critical of the US company’s collection of tens of thousands of WiFi hotspot locations, calling the method of gaining such information without the consent of users “unfair”, arguing it had helped Google acquire a “dominant position” in the field of location services.
It noted that Google had stopped collecting information on WiFi hot spots via its Street View vehicles, but said the collection of access points through its location mobile app continued.



SOURCE (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/83324eac-53ec-11e0-8bd7-00144feab49a.html)

[Gargamel]

Wait..... they fined google $142,000?

:doh:


That's like fining me .01


They didnt even notice it. Just being accused of it is worse than the fine.


But what's unfair about it, the dominant position I mean. IF you are offering a service that helps locate Wifi services, the best way to do it is to drive down the damn street and look for wifi! If the competition thinks it's unfair, let them drive everywhere gathering that data. Leave the personal info and passwords out, but gather the location data. If somebody is broadcasting a signal in their neighborhood, secured or not, it's existence is public knowledge. There are no secret wifi sites.

[Feuer Frei!]

They didnt even notice it. Just being accused of it is worse than the fine.
Exactly what i thought.
First offense too. That we/they know of :yep:

[Penguin]

But what's unfair about it, the dominant position I mean. IF you are offering a service that helps locate Wifi services, the best way to do it is to drive down the damn street and look for wifi! If the competition thinks it's unfair, let them drive everywhere gathering that data. Leave the personal info and passwords out, but gather the location data. If somebody is broadcasting a signal in their neighborhood, secured or not, it's existence is public knowledge. There are no secret wifi sites.

The thing is that Google didn't only scan for wifi networks, but they also recorded the traffic of them. This collection of data without consent is illegal here.
The same happened in Germany, but I expect that Google won't be fined here by our corporate-bowing jurisdiction.

[Catfish]

While we are at it, who will fine Google, Youtube and others for censorship on the net ?
Thy use IP adresses for letting you see this, and not that. They have done this in China voluntarily and so supported the regime, and they are now doing this all over the world :nope:

[UnderseaLcpl]

“This is a significant case because it sends a powerful message that the CNIL is serious about enforcement and is willing to use its enhanced authority.”
:haha: Spoken like a true regulator. He's going to eat those words if he presses the issue and google decides to regulate the regulators or regulate itself right out of France. I think France has sent enough "powerful" regulatory messages to the private sector, as evidenced by how well they regulated themselves into comparative economic obscurity.

[Gargamel]

The thing is that Google didn't only scan for wifi networks, but they also recorded the traffic of them. This collection of data without consent is illegal here.
The same happened in Germany, but I expect that Google won't be fined here by our corporate-bowing jurisdiction.

Then fine them for that, which I agree with. What's ON a secure server is supposed to be secure from legit sources. The fact that it exists is not secure.

But don't fine them for, and accuse them of gaining an unfair advantage in location services. That's just dumb.