Google faces more trouble

Caroline Davies  

Google's legal problems surrounding data collection around the world have intensified when it emerged that the company faces a police investigation in Australia, the latest in a growing number of countries expressing concern about its Street View mapping services.

The probe, which comes amid accusations that Google breached privacy laws, was announced a day after the firm agreed to hand over data it has collected through wireless networks to French, German and Spanish authorities. Canada has also recently launched a probe into Google amid privacy concerns relating to the Street View service which uses camera-equipped fleets of cars to take 360-degree panoramic pictures for an online atlas.

Last month, Google acknowledged it had mistakenly collected fragments of data over public and unsecured Wi-Fi networks in more than 30 countries as it was taking pictures of neighbourhoods. It said it discovered the problem after German regulators launched an inquiry.

In the U.K., the information commissioner ruled last year that Google's Street View technology carries a small risk of privacy invasion but should not be stopped, though members of the public have taken direct action in at least one location to prevent the company from taking photographs on their streets.

The Australian investigation comes as more regulators and consumers watchdogs around the world are complaining that Google does not take people's privacy seriously enough.

Google maintains that its users' privacy is one of the company's highest priorities. Australia's Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has accused Google of being responsible for the “single greatest breach in the history of privacy”.

Google apologised, saying it accidentally collected the information.

The company and the Australian government are arguing over Mr. Conroy's proposed mandatory internet filter, which Google says amounts to censorship. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2010