Google is facing a fresh privacy blunder after it admitted it had not deleted all of the private data, including emails and passwords, it secretly collected from internet users around the UK. The search giant was ordered in December 2010 to delete the private information hoovered up by its Street View cars from open Wi-F inetworks.
But on Friday Google told the Information Commissioner's Office that human error prevented it from erasing the data, which could include the emails and passwords of millions of Britons. Google admitted in May 2010 its Street View cars had mistakenly collected private information as they photographed homes and landmarks around the world.
It is not known exactly what private information was taken in the UK, but regulators in the US found traces of medical records and web browsing history among the so-called "payload" data.
The news that Google has not purged all of the data taken from UK users 19 months after it was instructed to do so will cause further embarrassment for the company. On Friday, the ICO said the retention of the data appeared to be a breach of the undertaking signed by Google in December 2010.
A spokesman for the ICO said it would now conduct a forensic analysis of the data, meaning Google could be fined up to £500,000 if the material is found to be in breach of the Data Protection Act.
Source: The Guardian
