Google has fallen under the scanner from the European privacy regulators for its Street View project. This axing was enforced when Google disclosed that since 2006, it had been collecting private data about wireless networks which was required for the photo database for the Street View project.

The search giant accepted that it was collecting the data and confirmed it via blog post (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/wifi-data-collection-updatehtml) when European agencies asked for the same. Google further added that this data, which came in form of unencrypted wireless networks, had information about web traffic and was collected by Google cars, which took the photographs for the same.

Meanwhile a note from the search giant stated that the company has taken the names, or SSIDs of wireless services, but now the company admits that it has been 'mistakenly' collecting network payload information as well. On the other hand German Minister for Food and Agriculture, Ilse Aigner said, "Based on the information we have before us, it appears that Google has illegally tapped into private networks in violation of German law".