If Google felt a bit under siege these days, I wouldn’t diagnose them with corporate paranoia. They really are getting slammed everywhere over the wi-fi payload data collection. Here’s just a small sampling of reactions and stories in the news today, sent in by a thoughtful reader:
Australia: Privacy class action in offing for Google
The Australian Privacy Foundation, a non-government advocacy group, says there are strong grounds for consumers to pursue their legal rights as Google, in its view, has breached the Telecommunications Act and the Privacy Act.
Austria: Austria Vows Fix To Protect Data After Google “Accident”
Austria said Friday amendments should be made in the European Union data protection directive, particularly data gathering sanctions, following the so-called Google “accident.”
and
Austria bans Google’s street view cars over privacy
Austria has placed a temporary ban on Google Street View cars while it probes concerns that the Internet company used the vehicles to collect private data, a statement said Friday.
U.S.: Everyone v. Google
Federal class actions in Washington and San Francisco joined German regulators in complaining that while Google sent vehicles all over world to take photos for maps, it was “surreptitiously collecting private information” from unguarded Wi-Fi networks.
The DC case is Colman v. Google