Google has paid a one million euro fine levied by the Italian Data Protection Authority for its Street View service. Although the fine was imposed on the18th December 2013, its enactment has only recently been made public.
The disputed facts date from 2010 when the D.P.A. intervened after numerous reports from people complaining of being photographed without their consent by Google Street View cars.
In fact, at that time Mountain View cars were operating around Italy without being readily identifiable and as a consequence people in the places covered had no say in deciding whether to avoid being photographed or not.
On the 15th October 2010 the D.P.A. ordered Google to make its cars easily identifiable by using clearly marked signs or stickers and in addition three days before the start of shooting to publish on its website a list of the places visited by the Google cars and also the parts of the big cities which would be covered by them.
The D.P.A. additionally ordered that the same announcement should be published by Google in at least two local newspapers and that the information contained should also be broadcast by at least one radio station in each region visited.
These measures were promptly adopted by Google.
The sanctioning procedure has now been concluded with the issue of an order of injunction in which the D.P.A. has imposed a one million euro fine. The sum was determined on the basis that the data unlawfully collected was destined for such a sizable and significantly important database as the Street View service.
In establishing the sum, the D.P.A. has opted to use the regulation terms of the privacy Code which aims to make fines sanctions effective when levied on large-sized enterprises.
It would appear that Google has already paid the fine.
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