Google Fined $189K For ‘one of the biggest data' privacy violations in Germany

Google 1, Germany 0. German regulators were furious when it was found that Google’s street car was unintentionally collecting email, photos, and passwords from its citizens’ unprotected wi-fi networks–something Hamburg-based regulator, Johannes Caspar, called “one of the biggest data protection rules violations known.” Yet, regulators could only muster a financial hand slap of 145 Euros, or about 0.005% of the search giant’s annual profits. Regulators couldn’t find any “criminal” violations for the data-stealing misstep, and German law has a maximum ceiling of 150 Euros for privacy law negligence, according to Bloomberg. Between 2008-2010, Google’s street car, which photographs and maps cities with a 360 degree camera, had  connected to home wifi networks and stole valuable data. Google chief privacy counsel, Peter Fleischer, claims it was unaware of the breach and did not use the sensitive information. Of course, not everyone in the Eastern Hemisphere has privacy ...

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