… and again… internet battlefield

… This time Google map service is the one that could face a EU lawsuit.
Peter Hustinx, the EU data protection supervisor, presented on 15 May the annual report and, during his discussion with the reporters, he mentioned that if Google launched such a map service in European Union, they should comply with European privacy legislation, which in most member states is stricter than in the United States.

“Making pictures on the street is in many cases not a problem, but making pictures everywhere is certainly going to create some problems. I’m quite sure they are aware of this.”

“Complying with European data protection law is going to be part of their business success or failure”
“If they would ignore it, it is likely to lead to [court] cases, and I think they would be hit hard.”

said Mr. Hustinx.
Google map service has been already launched for many North American cities, and has been a success so far, since the users have the possibility to make a virtual trip to places they cannot visit otherwise.

Definitely this will continue. So far, the internet and software European regulations seem to give the American software giants many headaches.