Anger as Dutch police use TomTom data

Europe’s largest satellite navigation maker has apologised to customers for selling their data, which was then used by Dutch police to set speed traps.

Earlier, TomTom had reported weak first quarter earnings in which it cut 2011 sales forecasts and said it was seeking to compensate for a decline in demand for personal navigation devices by growing service revenues – including selling traffic data to governments.

National newspaper Algemeen Dagblad reported that police had obtained the information from the government and used it to set targeted speed traps, prompting angry reactions from TomTom users.

In an emailed apology, chief executive Harold Goddijn said the company sold the anonymous data believing it would be used to improve safety or relieve traffic bottlenecks.

“We never foresaw this kind of use and many of our clients are not happy about it,” he wrote.

He promised licensing agreements would “prevent this type of use in the future”.

TomTom reported first quarter net profit of €11m, up from €3m euro in the same period a year earlier. It also reported worse-than-expected sales of €265m a 1% decline.