Austria wants sanctions for data gathering after Google ‘accident'

In the wake of an admission by internet search giant Google that it had accidentally collected data from unencrypted wifi networks in people's homes while its fleet of cars were out photographing buildings and roads for its ‘Street View' map service, Austria has said it wants to make such moves punishable.

Currently, only when such data is deliberately extracted in a premeditated fashion, for example, with the purpose of selling on that data, is such activity governed by criminal law in...