Google's Street View WiFi Blunder May Cost it €150,000 in Belgium

More than a year has passed and Google still has to put up with downfall from its Street View WiFi fiasco. Belgian authorities have offered Google a chance to make amends for the small sum of 150,000 euros, not even a drop in a bucket for the company.

Authorities have found that Google did breach the country's privacy laws and regulations and are now offering the company a settlement as an alternative to launching a full investigation and going to court.

The Belgian federal prosecutor concluded that Google's mishap was illegal. It could go to court with the complaint which may result in higher legal penalties and even jail time.

However, Google has the option of paying the smaller penalty now and be done with it. Google has three months to comply before the prosecutor can move forward, provided the company doesn't want to pay.

It's unlikely that will happen though, unless the settlement offered now comes with additional terms and conditions.

Google revealed last year that it had been collecting snippets of public WiFi communications with its Street View cars which were also equipped with wireless networking gear.

The company said it was unaware that it was collecting this data and that only fragments were captured. That said, it was later discovered that, because of the amount of data collected, personal info such as URLs, emails and even passwords had been gathered.

Google operated Street View in several tens of countries at the time and many launched investigations into the matter. Some have found Google guilty of breaching national laws, but there haven't been any huge consequences for the company.

The biggest fine so far came in France, where Google had to pay 100,000 euros. There are still several investigations underway so the company is not out of the woods just yet. [via TNW]