Google’s (
GOOG) Street View data collection practices
have gotten it into legal hot water throughout the world and on Tuesday the company agreed to pay $7 million to settle charges leveled by 38 state attorneys general that it improperly collected personal data from unsecured wireless networks from around the United States. Google maintains that it was unaware that
some of its Street View employees were collecting the data, which it admits included “URLs of requested Web pages, partial or complete email communications, and any confidential or private information being transmitted to or from the network user while the Street View cars were driving down streets.” As part of the settlement, Google will also have to run a training program for at least the next decade instructing employees on how to respect users’ privacy while collecting data from Street View and other services. A press release on the settlement issued by the Massachusetts State Attorney General’s office is posted below.
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