Google ends Street View litigation in the US, agrees to destroy collected data and pay $7 million fine

Google's long found itself in hot water where its Street View mapping practices are concerned, running afoul of authorities both in the US and abroad since 2010. But as of today, the search giant's putting an end to its domestic legal woes, agreeing to dole out $7 million to the 37 states and District of Columbia involved in the litigation. In addition, the company's pledged to destroy all of the user information (passwords, emails, etc.) it's thus far collected from unsecured networks -- unlawful snooping it claims was carried out by a "rogue engineer." Google admits to fumbling its dedication to user privacy in this one area and, as part of the settlement, has committed to not only educating its employees on best privacy practices, but to also launch a consumer outreach program addressing these same issues. So, for now, consider this case closed... in the US. Its troubles across the pond are another matter.

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Source: CNet