WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) – Google Inc has
been fined $25,000 for impeding a U.S. investigation into the
Web search leader’s data collection for its Street View project,
which allows users to see street level images when they map a
location.
The Federal Communications Commission imposed the fine late
on Friday, saying Google had collected personal information
without permission and had then deliberately not cooperated
with the FCC’s investigation.
“Google refused to identify any employees or produce any
e-mails. The company could not supply compliant declarations
without identifying employees it preferred not to identify,”
according to an FCC order dated April 13.
“Misconduct of this nature threatens to compromise the
commission’s ability to effectively investigate possible
violations of the Communications Act and the commission’s
rules.”
Google said in a statement said it turned over information
to the agency and challenged the finding that it was
uncooperative.
“As the FCC notes in their report, we provided all the
materials the regulators felt they needed to conclude their
investigation and we were not found to have violated any laws,”
the company said in a statement. “We disagree with the FCC’s
characterization of our cooperation in their investigation and
will be filing a response.”
Between May 2007 and May 2010, Google collected data from
wi-fi networks throughout the United States and across the world
as part of its Street View project, which gives users of Google
Map and Google Earth the ability to view street-level images of
structures and land adjacent to roads and highways.
But Google also collected passwords, Internet usage history
and other sensitive personal data that was not needed for its
location database project, the FCC said.
Google publicly acknowledged in May 2010 that it had
collected the so-called payload data, leading to an FCC
investigation on whether it had violated the Communications Act.
