Even after all these years, search giant Google must really, really regret having accidentally grabbed private data with its Street View. The data was collected from cafes and other open Wi-Fi networks. Google has apologized, repeatedly, but governments are still talking about it.
The Wi-Fi "spying" scandal seems to be one that won't end. The news seems ironic this month, coming in the wake of the National Security Agency leaks revealing that all Americans' truly private data is actually being collected and used. Especially since today it's privacy violations by the UK government that are the focus of the world's attention; intelligence agencies there are gathering their citizens' data with methods worse than the US, according to NSA leaker Edward Snowden, who shared top-secret documents published today by The Guardian. What Google collected was from public networks and could have been grabbed by a criminal or any hacker using simple software like Firesheep. And there's no evidence the search giant ever used it for anything or shared it with anyone.
A Federal Trade Commission investigation into Google's conduct ended without any action, but state attorneys general in the US and European governments kept going after Google. The UK had closed its investigation, but it re-opened it last year after Google admitted that it found additional discs of data it didn't delete the first time around.
Today the UK government ordered Google to delete that data in short order, although there will not be a fine imposed, according to the BBC. The search company has to delete all the data within 35 days and notify UK regulators immediately if any more is found. The extra discs found last year were due to "procedural failings and a serious lack of management oversight," the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) found.
A fine was inappropriate because there wasn't any real damage to customers, said the ICO. But if Google doesn't delete the data within 35 days, it will face criminal proceedings.
Google said in a statement that while the company works hard "to get privacy right," in this case it didn't.
"The project leaders never wanted this data, and didn't use it or even look at it," the statement continued. "We co-operated fully with the ICO throughout its investigation, and having received its order this morning we are proceeding with our plan to delete the data."
The Wi-Fi "spying" scandal seems to be one that won't end. The news seems ironic this month, coming in the wake of the National Security Agency leaks revealing that all Americans' truly private data is actually being collected and used. Especially since today it's privacy violations by the UK government that are the focus of the world's attention; intelligence agencies there are gathering their citizens' data with methods worse than the US, according to NSA leaker Edward Snowden, who shared top-secret documents published today by The Guardian. What Google collected was from public networks and could have been grabbed by a criminal or any hacker using simple software like Firesheep. And there's no evidence the search giant ever used it for anything or shared it with anyone.
A Federal Trade Commission investigation into Google's conduct ended without any action, but state attorneys general in the US and European governments kept going after Google. The UK had closed its investigation, but it re-opened it last year after Google admitted that it found additional discs of data it didn't delete the first time around.
Today the UK government ordered Google to delete that data in short order, although there will not be a fine imposed, according to the BBC. The search company has to delete all the data within 35 days and notify UK regulators immediately if any more is found. The extra discs found last year were due to "procedural failings and a serious lack of management oversight," the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) found.
A fine was inappropriate because there wasn't any real damage to customers, said the ICO. But if Google doesn't delete the data within 35 days, it will face criminal proceedings.
Google said in a statement that while the company works hard "to get privacy right," in this case it didn't.
"The project leaders never wanted this data, and didn't use it or even look at it," the statement continued. "We co-operated fully with the ICO throughout its investigation, and having received its order this morning we are proceeding with our plan to delete the data."