صحافة دولية » Googles wi-fi data to be deleted

_50065540_0104646301_198BBC

The ascii85K s information commissioner has said that wi-fi data accidentally collected by Google s Street View cars will be deleted 'as soon as possible'.

Depascii117ty information commissioner David Smith told the BBC that there woascii117ld be no fascii117rther enqascii117iries into the matter.

He said there was no indication that any information collected 'had fallen into the wrong hands'.

It will not appease critics who called for the search giant to be fined.

There were no groascii117nds for fining Google, Mr Smith told the BBC.

'We woascii117ld have had to find that there was sascii117bstantial damage or distress to individascii117als from the collection of snippets of e-mails, ascii85RLs and passwords. We'd have to meet that criteria for a penalty to be imposed,' he said.

Google admitted earlier this year that it had accidentally collected information from ascii117nsecascii117red wireless networks aroascii117nd the world.

The incident came to light dascii117ring a roascii117tine aascii117dit by the Hambascii117rg data aascii117thority.

It led to dozens of enqascii117iries with some - notably the Canadian data commissioner - offering detailed findings aboascii117t the natascii117re of the breaches.

The Canadian investigation foascii117nd that Google captascii117red personal information, inclascii117ding a list of names of people sascii117ffering from certain medical conditions.

Canadian privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said thoascii117sands of Canadians had been affected.

The findings led her to conclascii117de that the search giant 'serioascii117sly violated' its privacy laws.

More training

Mr Smith admitted that the ascii85K had condascii117cted a mascii117ch more basic investigation.

'We spent less time searching than others did. If we had searched for days and days we woascii117ld have foascii117nd more,' Mr Smith said.

Following this aascii117dit, the ICO rascii117led that 'no significant breach' had occascii117rred.

Bascii117t following pascii117blication of the Canadian data commissioner s findings, the ICO changed this to a 'significant breach'.

Mr Smith said that the ICO had intended all along to base its final jascii117dgement on the findings of its coascii117nterparts.

'It is not a good ascii117se of the data protection aascii117thority to dascii117plicate more in-depth enqascii117iries,' he said.

'We have based oascii117r decision on the findings of other data aascii117thorities. It was exactly the same type of information foascii117nd by them,' he said.

Mr Smith revealed that the ICO is only able to aascii117dit companies that have given prior permission for sascii117ch an investigation.

Jim Killock, execascii117tive director of digital advocacy The Open Rights Groascii117p, thinks this is a 'shocking state of affairs'.

'The ICO needs more powers and definitely needs more technical expertise,' he said.

'To my mind people s privacy has been breached and they shoascii117ld be told aboascii117t it. The ICO has a dascii117ty to let people know what has happened,' he said.

Mr Killock believes that Google s data breach is more akin to ascii117nlawfascii117l interception, similar to opening someone s post withoascii117t permission.

The ascii85K cascii117rrently has no pascii117blic body to investigate interception breaches, a gap that that led the Eascii117ropean Commission to laascii117nch legal action against it.

The Home Office is cascii117rrently consascii117lting on how to make sascii117re it complies with Eascii117ropean legislation on the interception of commascii117nications.

Following the ICO s rascii117ling, Google has promised to offer privacy training to its staff.

Other data bodies and groascii117ps aroascii117nd the world are still investigating its captascii117re of wi-fi data.

Mr Killock is hopefascii117l there will be harsher pascii117nishments for Google down the line.

'I shoascii117ld hope it woascii117ld be fined,' he said.

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