European regulators are set to receive data inadvertently collected by Google from unsecured WiFi networks across the Continent.
The data is expected to be transferred to authorities in Germany, France and Spain.
It should be noted that Google’s data gathering policies have come under scrutiny in the US as well as Europe.
Indeed, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has pledged to take a “very, very close look” at the company’s practices.
In addition, an Oregon judge recently ordered the Internet search giant to preserve WiFi data that was accidentally recorded by the company’s Street View cars.
Google had previously announced plans to consult with privacy advocates and legislators over the best way to dispose of such information.
However, residents of Oregon and Washington who filed a class action suit against Google demanded the data be preserved so it could be used as evidence of alleged privacy violations in a future lawsuit.
Meanwhile, Google CEO Eric Schmidt has conceded that the data collection was ‘in clear violation’ of company policies. Schmidt also vowed to conduct an internal investigation of the incident.
