“CNIL examined the data to see if any privacy laws had been breached,” The Telegraph reports. “The data was collected as Google logged Wi-Fi hot spots to help it develop location-based services.”
The Telegraph report, “However, the US internet giant also captured emails and sensitive information such as the bank details of users who were logged on to unsecure networks at the time… [CNIL] has the power to prosecute and expects to know by the end of the year whether it has a case.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Brawndo Drinker” for the heads up.]
Poss here in the UK too.
France needs other news to divert the attention away from their World Cup team. Too bad for Google. The French aren’t in a good mood right now.
UK link http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jun/22/google-wifi-crime-privacy-international
Carpet bomb those bastards back to the stone age.
@ Big Al
– the French or Google?….
For an outfit whose motto is “Don’t be evil,” they certainly seem to do a lot of things that seem evil.
Queue the Amerikuh anti-France rhetoric in 3… 2…1…
@ Big Als MBP
FWIW
Out of curiosity, I just did a gooGle search of the phrase “Carpet bomb those bastards back to the stone age” and came up with someone’s weblog comment from — 9/11/2001.
Google are low life liars and data theft pigeons. Any company that has their motto is the worst liars in the industry.
Danno …. bookem!
I wish the US was as protective of privacy rights. Well, the right to an abortion is a protective right of privacy, so that’s good. Otherwise, France has good food, nice looking women, and strong protection of privacy. I’m good with that.
Check their pockets for users’ silverware.
It is a good thing that France is going after Google. That will demonstrate that France is tough on privacy violations. After setting such an example, there is absolutely no way that criminals will drive around collecting the bank details of users logged on to unsecure networks. </sarcasm>
If you use wireless connectivity, then learn to use it properly and wisely. There is no reason to leave your “house” unlocked.
Good for the French.
Google doesn’t get a pass just because they have a cute slogan. Facebook and Google are huge intelligence-gathering operations. Everybody from the ACLU to EFF to UCLA should be nipping at their heels to make sure they don’t abuse this trust.
The French are odd, sometimes, they loved Jerry Lewis movies, but their streak of independence sometimes reflects the wisdom of a former great power. They didn’t fall for 9/11 and Bush’s terrible war on terror, so they elected not to participate. We should have done the same.