BERLIN – A German data protection agency fined Google Inc. 145,000 euros ($189,000) for illegally recording information from unsecured wireless networks — an amount it acknowledged is “totally inadequate” as a deterrent to the multinational giant.
Hamburg’s state data protection agency said Monday that Google admitted collecting data including emails, passwords, photos and chat protocols from 2008-2010 as it prepared to launch its Street View service. Google says it never intended to store personal data and the agency says it has been deleted.
Read More: Google faces legal action in 6 EU countries over privacy policy
Agency head Johannes Caspar says “company internal control mechanisms failed seriously” at Google but the maximum fine possible was 150,000 euros which was “unlikely…to have a deterring effect.” Google earned $3.3 billion in the first quarter.
Caspar urged dramatic increases to possible maximum fines under future European regulations.
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