[e-privacy] EDRi-Gram: Google Street View faces citizens' reservation in EU

[Andrea Glorioso]

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1. Google Street View faces citizens' reservation in EU
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While Google intends to go on mapping localities in Europe through its
Street View system, several EU countries continue to show reluctance to
this service due to privacy issues.

In May 2010, Google was faced with big concerns in Germany after it had
been revealed that Street View vehicles were collecting private data
sent over Wi-Fi networks. Google stated it was a mistake and the data
had never been used in any Google products and that anyway only
fragments of payload data had been gathered.

As Google announced, it would re-launch its service in November 2010 and
although the company stated it would allow Germans to opt out of Street
View, thousands of Germans have requested their homes be removed from
Google Street View.

Under pressure from the EU, Google accepted to allow German people from
20 cities to opt out from having their homes included in the service,
but imposed a deadline 15 September 2010 until when they would receive
written letters with the request for the opt-out. For the time being,
Germany is the only country having this possibility.

The German government is to issue more comprehensive rules on data
protection on the Internet this autumn.

In France, as Google would continue collecting 3D images of the streets
in the areas yet uncovered, CNIL, the French Data Protection Authority,
considered the action as premature as its investigation of this Google's
service is not yet concluded and asked to examine the hard disks
containing the collected Wi-Fi data.

Also Spain has joined these countries and is investigating Google for
alleged privacy violations and "computer crime" of its mapping service
while taking shots of the city streets in Spain. A subpoena has been
issued by the Spanish court following a complaint filed in June by
private internet watchdog and technology consulting agency Apedanica.

"Every citizen holds under EU law the right of appeal against Google
Street View. I expect that Google respect European rules on data
protection - anywhere in Europe. The best way is a citizen friendly and
non-bureaucratic tool for appeals," has recently told EU justice
commissioner Viviane Reding to German daily Bild, adding that the period
for appeal should be at last six weeks long.

Germans upset by Google Street View (13.08.2010)
http://euobserver.com:80/9/30620/?rk=1

Generational gap divides opinion on Internet privacy (18.08.2010)
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5920442,00.html

Spain takes on Google over privacy violations in Street View (17.08.2010)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/7950503/Spain-takes-on-Google-over-privacy-violations-in-Street-View.html

Google Cars will be back in France (only in French, 20.08.2010)
http://www.01net.com/editorial/519890/les-google-cars-vont-faire-leur-retour-en-france/

CNIL considers the re-entering into circulation of Google Street View
vehicles as premature (only in French, 20.08.2010)
http://www.cnil.fr/la-cnil/actu-cnil/article/article/2/la-cnil-juge-prematuree-la-reprise-de-la-circulation-des-vehicules-google-street-view

EDRi-gram: Austria puts more pressure on Google Street View (2.06.2010)
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number8.11/austria-bans-street-view-cars

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