Google has missed a deadline with regulators in Germany to hand over personal data it collected over WiFi networks as part of its Street View scheme.
The delay means Google could face a fine of hundreds of thousands of euros, and comes as it faces increasing pressure from regulators globally for its unauthorised accumulation of 600GB of personal data.
The data protection authority in Hamburg had asked Google to submit the original hard drives containing the “payload” data – such as e-mails or fragments of web pages being visited by individuals using unsecured wireless networks – by midnight on Wednesday.
Hamburg’s initial request to audit the data collected for Street View, which allows users to see detailed photos of cities around the world, prompted Google’s admission two weeks ago that it had “mistakenly” collected personal information.
Prosecutors there are investigating what they call an “unauthorised interception of data”.
The Hamburg information commissioner also demanded access to one of the cars used to capture photos and other information for Google’s Street View, with which Google has complied.
But Google has asked for more time to consider the legal ramifications of sharing private data with the regulator after being advised that doing so could break German communications law.
“We want to co-operate with [the Hamburg information commissioner's] requests … but as granting access to payload data creates legal challenges in Germany which we need to review, we are continuing to discuss the appropriate legal and logistical process for making the data available,” Google said. “We hope, given more time, to be able to resolve this difficult issue.”
Google admitted that it could face a similar conflict between civil investigators and criminal prosecutors in other countries.
Prof Dr Johannes Caspar, Hamburg’s data protection commissioner, said he did not accept Google’s argument. He said in a statement that the search company would not face criminal action by handing over the hard drive.
Earlier reports in Germany suggested that Prof Caspar could fine Google €300,000 ($367,000) for missing the deadline.
But some privacy campaigners sided with Google. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a US-based digital privacy campaigner, which slammed Google as “too mature to be making these kinds of rookie privacy mistakes”, shared the company’s concerns about further exposing private information.
“Calls from some quarters for Google to turn over the data to the US or other governments are wrong-headed,” EFF said last week . “To allow a government to investigate a privacy breach by further violating privacy is senseless.”
Google last week stopped the global deletion of private WiFi data it has collected following confusion over what it should do with the material. Although it has deleted the data it collected in Ireland, it halted plans to dispose of the information in the UK after a complaint from Privacy International that such a move would constitute destruction of evidence.
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