European Racket Over Street View Privacy Spawns Probes

European privacy advocates are scaling up their scrutiny on Google regarding its Street View cars' collection of data from unencrypted WiFi networks.

German prosecutors and the Czech data protection agency have launched separate investigations into the issue; Italy's privacy regulator is looking into whether Google treated the data correctly; and the European Union's Justice Commissioner has waded into the fray.

Meanwhile, Google CEO Eric Schmidt reportedly said the company plays hardball with governments on privacy issues.
Old-World Angst

Prosecutors in Hamburg, where Google has its German headquarters, are reportedly following up on a complaint against unnamed Google workers over the unauthorized interception of data.

Their examination, which will determine if the allegations warrant a full-blown investigation, could take up to two weeks.

Meanwhile, Czech Republic's data protection agency, known as "UOOU," has also reportedly launched an administrative investigation into Google's WiFi data collection.

Over in Italy, the country's privacy regulator has said it would verify whether or not Google treated the data acquired by Street View correctly.

Privacy authorities in the United Kingdom have ordered Google to destroy WiFi data its Street View cars captured in the country. A similar request by privacy authorities in the Irish Republic had Google destroy data captured from citizens of that nation.

The European Union has also stepped into the fracas -- EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding reportedly criticized Google for not following the EU's rules.