In a blog posting written late Saturday on his official government Web site, Mr. Schaar, who is also a member of the panel that advises the European Commission on privacy and data protection issues, questioned whether Google's collection of the data was a simple oversight, as the company has maintained.
The social network said it complied with data protection law and questioned the Belgian watchdog's authority.
Back in December the German data protection body in question, the ULD (Unabhaengiges Landeszentrum fuer Datenschutz), issued a ruling against Facebook's real-name policy, arguing that it erodes online freedoms and calling for the site to allow the use of pseudonyms.
He also teaches topics such as digital safety and privacy @NormanShamas Phil Sugden, senior functional business analyst for the student services department at the University of Derby Euros Jones, specialist in privacy and data protection, Weightmans LLP Post any questions you have for the panelists below the line.
German data protection officials had initially questioned the legality of Street View but dropped their objections last July after Google agreed to hide details of faces, license plates and house numbers through pixilation, and to give citizens the option of removing their property entirely from the 360-degree photo archive.
German data protection officials had initially questioned the legality of Street View but dropped their objections last July after Google agreed to hide details of faces, license plates and house numbersthrough pixilation, and to give citizens the option of removing their property entirely from the 360-degree photo archive.
The Budapest government was also criticised for sacking the head of the country's data protection agency and has faced questions over the independence of the new one.
Furthermore, many companies, especially larger enterprises, often have profound and detailed questions regarding data protection and data security.
But it provided TechCrunch with the following statement, attributed to a spokesperson: "We're working with data protection authorities to address their questions.
This, off course, raises questions about data protection, but this is a matter of mindsets rather than of technology, according to several speakers, who seem convinced that people will accept that the benefits outweigh the risks.
If you have any questions about data protection, please contact the Data Protection officer via the switchboard on 0845 155 5000.
