Google to hand over data
GOOGLE is set to hand over rogue WiFi data it picked up through its Street View cameras to European regulators within the next two days.
The company is keen to avoid further criticism of its privacy record and potential criminal charges, and will provide information to the German, Spanish, French and Italian data protection authorities.
The firm said in a statement it was “working hard” to provide authorities with its data, and had already handed over a Street View car.
It will also publish an external audit into its practice of photographing streets for its Street View service.
“We recognise how important this issue is and believe that we are close to resolving the legal issues we have faced in order to make available the payload data we mistakenly ended up collecting,” said chief executive Eric Schmidt. “We screwed up. Let’s be very clear about that,” he added.