In addition to concerns about the photos taken, Google admitted in 2010 that its specially equipped cars taking the photographs were also picking up Wi-Fi data and had inadvertently captured unencrypted private data including passwords and e-mails.
CNIL, the National Commission for Information Freedom, said Google had pledged to erase all the private data, but that it had found "that Google has not refrained from using the data identifying Wi-Fi access points of individuals without their knowledge."
The regulator said it decided to impose the fine as this constituted "unfair collection" of information under French law and it had received economic benefits from the data.
France fines Google 100 000EUR over Street View privacy concerns
Posted on Monday, March 21 2011 @ 21:58 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck