Google Faces Spanish Inquisition Over Street View

Google is facing its very own Spanish inquisition after a judge in Madrid ordered the search engine giant to send a representative to face charges that its Street View WiSpy activities may have breached the country’s privacy laws.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Judge Raquel Fernandino issued the subpoena last month following a complaint filed in June by private internet watchdog Apedanica. The subpoena was only made public this week.

Was Spanish Inquisition Expected?

The case will take place in early October. Apedanica contends that Google violated an article in Spain’s criminal code that forbids the unauthorised interception and collection of communications data.

If found guilty, it is thought Google potentially faces a four year prison sentence, although it is unclear who exactly the Spanish courts would send to prison.

A spokeswoman for Google Spain, Marisa Toro, told the New York Times that the company planned to co-operate fully with the judge and other Spanish authorities to resolve the privacy concerns. “We are dedicating a lot of our time to finding a solution so that users can be at ease,”  Toro said.

Google had introduced Street View in Spain three years ago, and according to Toro it has proved to be “very popular.” However plans to expand the coverage in Spain have been delayed pending an outcome in the data collection dispute.

Ongoing Headache

For Google, the Street View WiSpy controversy does not seem to be going away. The company  grounded its Street View fleet of cars in May after admitting to inadvertently collected more than 600GB of data from unsecured Wi-Fi networks around the world.

The incident provoked outrage from governments and privacy advocates at the time, and Google is subject to investigations by Scotland Yard, the US Federal Trade Commission and European regulators, although it is worth noting that the company has been cleared by the Information Commissioner’s Office after it examined the captured data.

German Concerns

But Google’s headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, has been recently raided by police, and the company also had to deny reports that it was experimenting with spy drones or UAVs, typically used by special forces or the police.

Google plans to introduce its Street View technology for 20 German cities before the end of the year, but is facing problems after serious concerns were aired by the country’s top privacy regulator. In addition, reports have emerged that Germany’s Cabinet is discussing what the country might do to ease concerns.

According to the AP, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper people shouldn’t get “hysterical” about the issue and called for “caution in introducing blanket rules allowing objections.”