Reuters: Technology News: Google fined $25,000 for impeding FCC investigation

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Google fined $25,000 for impeding FCC investigation Apr 16th 2012, 15:05 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Google fined $25,000 for street data collection Sun, Apr 15 2012 Google stock split helps Page, Brin maintain grip Thu, Apr 12 2012 Ban on political ads on public TV struck down Thu, Apr 12 2012 Google view on mobile ads awaited at CEO's 1-year anniversary Wed, Apr 11 2012 Google defends privacy policy to European watchdog Thu, Apr 5 2012 Analysis & Opinion Russian Orthodox apologise for photo after bloggers rap Patriarch Kirill over watch What good is 'crowd-sourcing' when everyone needs help? People visit Google's stand at the National Retail Federation Annual Convention and Expo in New York January 16, 2012. Credit: Reuters/ Kena Betancur WASHINGTON | Mon Apr 16, 2012 11:05am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Google Inc has been fined $25,000 for impeding a U.S. investigation into the Web search leader's data collection for its Street View project, which allows users to see street level images when they map a location. The Federal Communications Commission imposed the fine late on Friday, saying Google had collected personal information without permission and had then deliberately not cooperated with the FCC's investigation. "Google refused to identify any employees or produce any e-mails. The company could not supply compliant declarations without identifying employees it preferred not to identify," according to an FCC order dated April 13. "Misconduct of this nature threatens to compromise the commission's ability to effectively investigate possible violations of the Communications Act and the commission's rules." Google said in a statement said it turned over information to the agency and challenged the finding that it was uncooperative. "As the FCC notes in their report, we provided all the materials the regulators felt they needed to conclude their investigation and we were not found to have violated any laws," the company said in a statement. "We disagree with the FCC's characterization of our cooperation in their investigation and will be filing a response." Between May 2007 and May 2010, Google collected data from wi-fi networks throughout the United States and across the world as part of its Street View project, which gives users of Google Map and Google Earth the ability to view street-level images of structures and land adjacent to roads and highways. But Google also collected passwords, Internet usage history and other sensitive personal data that was not needed for its location database project, the FCC said. Google publicly acknowledged in May 2010 that it had collected the so-called payload data, leading to an FCC investigation on whether it had violated the Communications Act. (Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Richard Chang and Eric Meijer) Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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