Google gets introduced to a $189k fine in Germany due to Wi-Fi data violation

Back in 2008, Google's Street View cars were happily driving around Germany, taking 360-degree photos and... collecting data from the Wi-Fi hotspots scattered around the country. The carelessness that led to this unauthorized data collection already cost the company a lot of money. Google was recently fined $7 million by the FCC, and now we learn that it was introduced to a new, although much smaller fine in Germany - $189 000 (EUR 145 000).

Hamburg-based data regulator Johannes Caspar has said that this is one of the biggest violations of data protection rules known to him. Interestingly, Germany was actually unable to issue a bigger fine, because their upper limit for such cases is EUR 150 000, or $195 330. As you can imagine, though, Mr. Caspar would like to see this limitation put much higher, in order to make companies think twice before endangering people's confidential information.

Now, if you'd excuse us, we have a walk to take on Champs-Élysées.

via: Electronista