Australia denies targeting Google over web filter

Australia yesterday denied waging a campaign of vengeance against Google after launching a police probe of the web giant, a strong critic of plans for a nationwide Internet filter.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has called chief executive officer Eric Schmidt's approach to privacy "a bit creepy" and accused Google of deliberately collecting private data while taking pictures for its street maps.

But Mr Conroy said the privacy investigation announced on Sunday had been ordered by the attorney-general, and mirrored similar action taken against Google in other countries.

"Not in the slightest," he told public broadcaster ABC, when asked if Australia was hitting back over Google's opposition to the filter.

"I raised these concerns about these giant companies - Google, Facebook and others - who don't seem to believe the Australian laws should apply to them.

"They say, 'hey, we are based in the US, we don't care what the European Union says, we don't care what individual jurisdictions in Europe say and we don't care what the Australian government says'."

Attorney General Robert McClelland said he had asked police to investigate after receiving numerous complaints about Google collecting private wireless data.

Google insists it gathered the information by accident and promised to cooperate with the police investigation.

"This was a mistake. We are talking to the appropriate authorities to answer any questions they have," a spokesman said in a statement.