Google fined E100,000 by France as data collection row rumbles on

Google said sorry about the data inadvertently collected by its Street View cars but that hasn't appeased the gendarmes from France, so now comes the punishment

Google has been fined €100,000 by French authorities for unfair data collection from wireless networks through the company's Street View mapping service and localisation program Latitude.Camera-equipped cars used to take pictures for Street View had for several years inadvertently collected personal data from unsecured wireless networks across the world, Google disclosed cast May. Authorities in several countries, including France and the United Kingdom, immediately started looking into the matter following the admission. France's online privacy watchdog ,Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés, or CNIL, said on Monday that Google hadn't fully complied with its demands over the collection of data . The company did not disclose full details of the computer programme used to get the information.And although, Google has now stopped collecting information via the Street View cars, the company continues to collect data on Wi-Fi access points through smartphones connected to its Latitude service - without informing individuals.This constitutes unfair data collection that benefits Google economically, said the CNIL - and was another reason for the fine. The CNIL wants Google to register the Latitude system with them but the company doesn't think French laws require that, according to CNIL Secretary-General Yann Padova .Google's Global Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer said in an emailed statement "As we have said before, we are profoundly sorry for having mistakenly collected payload data from unencrypted WiFi networks."The company said it immediately informed authorities of the data inadvertently collected - but he did not mention the continuing dispute. Google can appeal the fine.