ICO gives Google minor ticking off for its interception of wireless data during Street View data gathering

The Information Commissioner’s Office has given Google a ticking off but went on to say that no further action was necessary after the UK’s data protection regulator had investigated the search engine giant over unauthorised collection of people’s data. Google came in for investigation over its Street View service, after its cars had been inadvertently collecting the contents of wireless communications from people’s unsecured wi-fi networks in streets where they were snapping to collect their photo images. As a result of the error, Google agreed to work with privacy regulators around the world to resolve the issue. Following the ICO’s investigation, it said that Google’s actions were wrong, but they were accidental and had been unlikely to have gathered any meaningful personal data and did not seem to have caused harm to any individuals. Although Google can breathe a sigh of relief in the UK, it still faces investigations and possible class action lawsuits in other jurisdictions over its error.