Google Stops Street View Data Collection After Canada, Spain Complaints
Canada’s privacy commissioner yesterday declared that Google violated the country’s privacy laws, which followed news that Spain’s Data Protection Agency plans to fine Google between €60,000 and €600,000 ($84,000 and $840,000) per offense due to the Wi-Fi data Google collected with its Street View cars.
Google Discontinues Street View Wireless Data Collection
Heading forward, Google won’t let its Street View cars collect personal data off wireless networks. From the report:
Google still intends to offer location-based services, but does not intend to resume collection of WiFi data through its Street View cars. Collection is discontinued and Google has no plans to resume it.
However, they will continue to “rely on its users’ [smartphones] to collect the information on the location of WiFi networks that it needs for its location-based services database.”
Canada: Google Breached Privacy Laws
As long as Google deletes all the information it collected by Feb. 1, Canada’s Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart says the case will be closed.
Google’s Street View cars collected complete e-mails, e-mail addresses, user names and passwords, names and residential telephone numbers and addresses, and health details.
Spain Plans to Fine Google
Google could be fined for up to five infractions — two serious and three very serious — of Spanish data protection laws, the Spanish Data Protection Agency said in a statement Monday. Depending on what happens in Madrid’s legal system, Google could be slapped with some hefty fines.
Google, in May, called the numerous data collection incidents in multiple countries a “mistake” and has repeatedly apologized.