A judge in Spain has reportedly opened an investigation into whether internet search services provider Google illegally collected data from unsecured wireless networks while gathering photographs for Google's photo-mapping service Street View.
According to a New York Times report, a representative from Google has been ordered to appear before the judge, Raquel Fernandino, in early October over a lawsuit filed by a Spanish association of Internet users. While the summons was issued last month, it was made public only this week.
Street View has caused regulatory and legal problems for Google in other European countries like Switzerland and Germany which follow strict privacy laws. Earlier in May, a judge in Hamburg opened a criminal investigation of Google over its collection of data from unsecured Wi-Fi networks in Germany. Google had then said that the collection of data was accidental and apologised for what it called a programming error.
A spokeswoman for Google has said that the company will cooperate fully with the judge and other Spanish authorities to resolve the privacy concerns.
Street View was introduced in Spain three years ago, and according to Google, it had proved very popular. Plans to expand the coverage in Spain have been delayed pending an outcome in the data collection dispute.
Apedanica, the Spanish association of Internet users, contends that Google violated an article in Spain's criminal code that prohibits the unauthorised interception and collection of such communications data. The judge's investigation is reportedly the most serious threat so far in Spain for Google and its mapping service.
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