Google Admits its Street View Cars Violated People’s Privacy

A three-year-long privacy investigation involving Google’s Street View cars revealed some disturbing information. Between 2008 and 2010, Google’s cars collected passwords, e-mails, medical and financial records and other private information from home wireless networks. Basically, Google’s cars sucked in all information available on unencrypted wireless networks…

While Google says the incident was a mistake, blaming the whole thing on a software glitch that made the cars accidentally collect users’ private information, it has agreed to pay a $7 million fine to 38 states and the District of Columbia to settle the investigation, the New York Times reported.

The Internet giant will also have to instruct its employees about user privacy (as if they needed an investigation to tell them that) and sponsor a nationwide campaign about how users can protect themselves on wireless networks. Last but not least, it also has to destroy all of the data it collected.

(story from Carscoops)