Hasta La Gadget!

Google has once again found itself in the hot seat over its data practices, and this time, a French agency is sounding the alarm. Earlier today, France’s National Commission on Computing and Freedom (CNIL) threatened Google with a €300,000 fine due to the company’s lack of compliance with a June decision aimed at protecting users’ private data. Previously, Google was given three months to address CNIL’s concerns about centralized data collection that lumps together information from Youtube, Gmail and searches and transparency about how such data was put to use. Now, the clock is up, and France isn’t fooling around. While formal sanctioning is a lengthy process that won’t be resolved for several months, the country’s stance is considered aggressive, even if the fine is relatively modest. Google, however, doesn’t seem phased. Company spokesperson Al Verney said, “Our privacy policy respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services.”

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Source: Yahoo

Google’s been taking heat for a number of years since its Street View cars were found to be pulling WiFi data, and the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information has today hit the search giant with a 145,000 euro fine (almost $190,000) for its indiscretions. You may not remember this specific case in Germany — it was nearly three years ago that investigations began, after all — but it has now come a close with this fine and the ruling that El Goog illegally recorded personal data including emails, passwords and pictures, which have all reportedly been deleted. We know the company has enough cash to pay in full, so the ruling will likely make more of a dent to its image than its bank account.

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Via: PCWorld

Source: Hamburg’s Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom

There’s so much deja vu here it’s almost bewildering, but Microsoft has managed to get itself fined by the European Commission once again for failing to comply with its 2009 commitment to make it easy for customers to choose default browsers other than Internet Explorer. The penalty of 561 million euros ($730 million) isn’t the biggest Redmond has faced in its turbulent history with European regulators, but it’s still gotta hurt — especially considering that Microsoft said its latest anti-trust blunder, in which the browser choice screen disappeared for some Windows 7 users, was merely a “technical error“.

Update: Microsoft has said it won’t appeal the fine and issued the following statement:

We take full responsibility for the technical error that caused this problem and have apologized for it. We provided the Commission with a complete and candid assessment of the situation, and we have taken steps to strengthen our software development and other processes to help avoid this mistake – or anything similar – in the future.

Filed under: Software, Microsoft

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Via: Reuters

Source: Europa.eu

A UK government agency has slapped Sony’s wrist with a £250,000 ($400,000) penalty for not doing enough to protect the personal information of its customers. The fine specifically concerns the large-scale PSN hack in April 2011, which the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) says “could have been prevented.” The agency’s head, David Smith, said that the security measures Sony had in place “were simply not good enough.” He added that Sony trades on its technical know-how, and had access to the necessary expertise to protect itself from criminal attacks:

“There’s no disguising that this is a business that should have known better.”

Though the size of the fine might seem piddling for an outfit like Sony, the ICO considers it to be a “substantial” punishment, reflecting the fact that this case is “one of the most serious” that has ever been reported to it. Check out David Smith’s statement and best angry teacher face in the video after the break.

Update: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe emailed us to say that it plans to appeal the decision. The company also agrees with the ICO’s findings that although it was the victim of a focused criminal attack, it was unlikely that personal data accessed was used for “fraudulent purposes”.

Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Sony

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Source: ICO

The European Commission is planning to fine Microsoft for its failure to adhere to a 2009 ruling that required the software giant to offer customers a choice of default web browser. The EU Competition Commissioner, Joaquin Almuni, advised the press that a formal proceeding into the breach — which Microsoft itself acknowledges — has begun. Reuters reports that should Microsoft be found on the wrong side of the law, that the resulting fine could be as much as 10 percent of its global turnover. Whether the end sum would be as high as this remains to be seen, but given recent events, you can expected some hurried shuffling of paper in Redmond’s accounts department.

Filed under: Internet, Software

European Commission set to fine Microsoft over 2009 browser compliance breach originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 06:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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