German prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Google Inc. to investigate whether the company has violated privacy laws by recording fragments of data from unsecured Wi-Fi networks.
The investigation was launched after a complaint was filed against a Google employee over the incident, according to The Associated Press.
The incident came to light after German authorities asked to audit the gathered data. In an apology issued by Google on Friday, the company acknowledged that data had been collected, saying it had been inadvertently stored over the past four years when their cars gathered information for its street view feature.
German prosecutors are now trying to determine whether there is a good enough case for criminal charges against the company.
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