Google in breach of UK data laws
Google breached UK data laws in its collection of personal data via Street View cars, the UK's Information Commissioner has said.
But Google will not face a fine or any punishment, Christopher Graham added.
It marks a u-turn for the Information Commissioner' s Office which originally ruled that no data breach had occurred.
Last week the ICO vowed to look again at the evidence, after the Canadian data agency found the search giant in breach of its law.
Mr Graham wants Google to delete the data - collected from unsecured wi-fi networks - "as soon as it is legally cleared to do so".
Google has been the subject of scrutiny from data protection agencies around the world, following news that software in its Street View cars collected millions of pieces of personal information.
This was revealed following a request from the German data commissioner to audit all the data being collected by Street View cars.
Google discovered that, along with legitimate data about the location of wi-fi hotspots, the cars were also hoovering up personal details from unsecured networks, known as payload data.
Google said it was "profoundly sorry for mistakenly collecting payload data in the UK".
It said it happened as the result of code written by one of its engineers being mistakenly incorporated in the Street View software.
"Since we announced our mistake in May we have co-operated closely with the ICO and worked to improve our internal controls," it said in a statement.
It announced recently that it would appoint a head of privacy and ensure that all its engineering teams followed strict privacy protocols.
New impetus was given to the UK enquiry, which had originally ruled that no significant breach had occurred, following harsh criticisms of Google from the Canadian authorities.
Last month it found that the search giant had breached its privacy laws.
"This incident was a serious violation of Canadian's privacy rights," privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart concluded.
But she said that no further action would be taken if Google tightened its privacy policies.
Credit: BBC
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