Google hit by $7m Street View fine in US
Google has agreed to pay a $7m (£4.6m) fine for collecting people's personal data without authorisation as part of its Street View service. - In a settlement with 38 US states, the internet giant agreed to destroy emails, passwords, and web histories. The data was harvested from home wireless networks as Street View cars photographed neighbourhoods between 2008 and 2010. Google said it was pleased to have resolved the issue. "We work hard to get privacy right at Google. But in this case we didn't, which is why we quickly tightened up our systems to address the issue," the firm said in a statement. "The project leaders never wanted this data, and didn't use it or even look at it. We're pleased to have worked with Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen and the other state attorneys general to reach this agreement."