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Google Agrees to Assess Privacy of Street View Data Collected in Australia
Google Inc. has agreed to assess the impact on privacy of data collected in Australia for its Street View service, the nation’s privacy regulator said after a probe.
The operator of the world’s most popular Internet search engine apologized for collecting personal information from Wi-Fi networks when rolling out Street View and has agreed to consult with the regulator for any “significant” new products in Australia during the next three years, Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis said on the official website today.
In May, Google said it “mistakenly” took data from Wi-Fi networks as its vehicles drove through Australia for Street View, which allows website users to click on maps to see 360-degree views of roads. Curtis said she was “satisfied that any collection of personal information would have breached” the nation’s privacy laws, adding the company’s agreements are expected to ensure protections are built into new products.
“This was a mistake for which we are sincerely sorry,” Google said on its Australian blog. “Maintaining people’s trust is crucial to everything we do and we have to earn that trust every single day. We are acutely aware that we failed badly.”
The Privacy Commissioner said the existing law constrained her from imposing any sanction in such cases and added the regulator supports government plans to adopt tougher rules for breaches of privacy.
Australian police are separately probing the Mountain View, California-based company’s Street View service for possible breaches of data-security laws Attorney-General Robert McClelland said last month. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy on May 24 accused Google of invading privacy by photographing streets and using software to intercept data.
“Collecting personal information in these circumstances is a very serious matter. Australians should reasonably expect that private communications remain private,” Curtis said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Fenner in Melbourne rfenner@bloomberg.net
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