back to article Google cops €100k French spank in Street View slurp outrage

French privacy watchdogs have hit Google with its very first fine for allowing its Street View cars to snoop on citizens' Wi-Fi data. The search giant must pay a €100,000 (£87,114) fine for improperly gathering and storing data for its Street View application. The privacy regulator CNIL (Commission nationale de l'informatique …

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  1. serviceWithASmile

    say what you like

    about the french

    but atleast they stand up for themselves.

    £100k is pocket change for google but atleast it's something more than "thankyou ever so much for promising not to break this law in future"

  2. patrick_bateman
    FAIL

    Typical Uk

    UK - 'Well if you promise then things wil be ok wont they mr Googl 'e' woogalee'

    Google-' Er, Yer, Sure Sir, We will do that for you.'

    'Uk - 'Gooood, now, anyone want a cookie?'

    Google - 'MEE and when i am finnish ma cookie i'm gunna play with your data until i am bord then i might bin it'.

    Well done France, ServiceWith* is right, atleast there making a point.

  3. Version 1.0 Silver badge
    Happy

    We can't have that can we?

    France also accused Google of already using the data collected to improve its geo-location database and "acquire a dominant position in the field..."

    Interesting because http://www.wigle.net (slide over to France) shows that the French citizens are quite busy generating their own Wi-Fi location maps... but it's probably just to help those poor EMI sensitive souls I guess.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Not to mention

      Not to mention that all is needed for geo-location is the BSSID - which is broadcast by default (on most) routers - and the GPS co-ordinates.

      Connecting to the network and sniffing packet data is not required therefore Google capturing that data didn't help them "acquire a dominant position in the field...". The vast amount of petrol they burned did.

      (Not saying that the data capture is right - just that it's not associated with geo-location.)

  4. XMAN
    Thumb Up

    Good job

    Finally someone stands up to Google.

    I wonder if I could quote all these Google cases where they get let off as a precedent to get myself off any technical related crime.

  5. Cowardly anonymous

    Why punish google?

    If people encrypted their data transfers there'd be no issues with google collecting passwords wirelessly etc!?!

    It's tantamount to walking round shouting outyour pin number - SHOULD we punish people for listening? Theres no implication that google used the info...

    1. Tim Bates

      Not quite, but close

      It's not like punishing people for listening, it's more like punishing people for writing down the information.

  6. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

    Next up: Switzerland

    I have a feeling that this conviction will add to the court payload for Google in Switzerland. They have not finished by a long shot..

  7. JDX Gold badge

    All very well...

    But has Google agreed to PAY the fine?

    1. Rich 30

      yes...

      $100k? Yep, i expect Google can scrape that together.

  8. Gannon (J.) Dick
    IT Angle

    Hey Google, want fries with that ?

    Somebody remind me again why geo-location means locations finding people instead of people finding locations ...

    Nerds would do well to consult a real dictionary. Google might be a bit unreliable in this case.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hurrah

    With a substantial fine like that, not only is France crippling Google's ability to further breach the law, but it is also sending out a clear message that the peoples rights can't be ridden roughshod over in this way.

    1. Tim Bates

      Sarcasm?

      Please tell me you aren't serious... It's a fine of roughly $US150 THOUSAND issued to a company with a market value of $185 BILLION and a profit last year of around $19 BILLION

      Let's put it this way - It's like a person on a wage in the higher end of average being fined one whole dollar.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Aye

        Sorry Tim. Sarcasm it was.!

  10. ZagZee
    Boffin

    Not sure about in the EU....

    ..... but most places in the world, an unsecured WiFi connection is considered to be a public access point and any data sent over it to be "in the public domain" (same as posting it to a Blog site for eg).

    I haven't seen anything, anywhere saying that Google were brute forcing WiFi encryption keys in order to grab this data.

    So, people kicking up a stink because they are too stupid, or are unwilling to use secured services like the encryption that ever WiFi router has built in, deserve no claim to privacy in my mind.

    Sorry France - But I think you need to fix your laws on this one.

  11. Rishi

    Its not about the size of the fine or about open wifi

    I disagree with ZigZag and Tim Bates comments above.

    Its not the size of the fine, its the fact that Google have been proved wrong through a legal challenge and hence now know that they have broken the law. For Google this is the problem, and hence if they pay up than they admit they did break the law, so i suspect they will use the 2 week window to appeal this.

    Its not the fact that the WiFi ws open, its the fact that Google simply collected all the information without prior concent. Just because a wifi signla is open does not permit you to legally attach to it and start taking data off it. Even if people were stupid, the European Data Protection Directive makes this clear, that you are not allowed to process data without a specific agreement.

  12. Deckchair

    @Cowardly anonymous

    More like its like talking to your bank over your landline telephone and someone tapping your 'unencrypted' phone line for your security info.

    Just because its wireless doesn't make it public.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Encrypted or not

    Hard to imagine a worse breach of privacy than a wholesale recording of everyones network data.

    Beggars belief they get away with it.

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