Everyone’s friend Google is getting some flak in Germany for collecting private wi-fi networks with its Street View fleet.

The Street View part of Google Maps has yet to launch in German, and it had already had plenty of critics among Germany’s very private populous. But once privacy officials found out that the service would offer up much more than simple pictures, they were far from pleased.

Germany’s Federal Commissioner for Data Protection Peter Schaar says he’s “horrified” by the discovery.

“I am appalled… I call upon Google to delete previously unlawfully collected personal data on the wireless network immediately and stop the rides for Street View,” according to German broadcaster ARD.

Spooks have long desired the ability to cross reference the Mac address of a user’s connection with their real identity and virtual identity, such as their Gmail or Facebook account.

It’s really no wonder that people are upset, it wouldn’t be hard a malevolent government or law enforcement agency to take advantage of these to quash free speech or gain a virtual window into a person’s mailbox. I think German especially has one eye open for the possibility of an authoritarian government.

Google says the MAC addresses are never shared with anyone and the wi-fi and network SSID information is only used to determine locations, but that has done little to ease the fears of the Germans.

Google has, of course, all this information in its American version of Street View, but nobody seems to care all that much.

[Via The Register]

Related posts:

1. Google Takes Page From Microsoft Photosynth
2. Facebook CEO Says, ‘Privacy Shmivacy’
3. Google Dumps Chinese Search Engine Censorship

Facebook CEO Mark Zimmerberg recently went on record as saying that people care less about privacy today. That’s why this anonymous interview with a Facebook employee, which surfaced on The Rumpus recently, is so telling.

In the interview, the employee claims that there was once a master password that allowed Facebook employees to enter anybody’s profile. Now employees can login to profiles with the touch of a button, as long as they provide good reason to the higher ups. (Of course, couldn’t an employee claim a profile has been compromised just to get access to the user’s phone number, or even creepier – the list of their favorite bands?) Also, all private messages are stored in an easy to search database, which employees can peruse. Nice!

Many in the comments section of the article are questioning the credibility of the source. Anonymous sources are hard to trust. I will say this: given the CEO’s apparently lax views on privacy, if you’re worried about whether your private info is in safe hands on Facebook, I’d delete it immediately.

[Image via]

Related posts:

1. Facebook CEO Says, ‘Privacy Shmivacy’
2. Facebook Petition Emerges To Halt Facebook Coal Power Usage
3. Google Under Fire By German Privacy Advocates

During his talk at the Consumer Electronics Show, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg discussed the theme of privacy, as it relates to his company. “People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people,” Zuckerberg said. “We view it as our role in the system to constantly be innovating and be updating what our system is to reflect what the current social norms are.” I’m getting dizzy, because that logic is totally circular!

Facebook is a successful business, built on getting people to put information on its website. When more users update their profiles with phone numbers, relationship statuses and pictures of themselves vomiting, there’s more information on Facebook, and therefore Facebook becomes more valuable. I see the above quote as saying, “Facebook has become successful at coaxing private information out of people, so now the social norms of ‘privacy’ have changed. We will continue to innovate in the field of getting more people to give us their formerly private information.”

It’s kind of like a cigarette manufacturer saying the definition of “healthy” has changed, because more people have decided to smoke their cigarettes.

[Image via]

Related posts:

1. Facebook Iz In Ur Profile, Violatin Ur Privacy
2. Are Your Facebook Friends Feds?
3. Google Under Fire By German Privacy Advocates