FTC will not fine Google for stealing passwords with Street View cars

Following Google’s recent admission that it accidentally stole passwords, emails and other personal information with its Street View cars, the Federal Trade Commission has decided not to issue any fines. Earlier this week, Google confirmed accusations that its Street View cars — the vehicles Google uses to take Street View images for its popular Google Maps service — inadvertently stole sensitive personal data from various homes with open Wi-Fi networks. Wednesday, the FTC confirmed that a resulting investigation did not find cause to fine Google for its unlawful actions. FTC director for consumer protection David C. Vladeck said the following in a letter to Google:

Google has made assurances to the FTC that the company has not used and will not use any of the payload data collected in any Google product or service, now or in the future. This assurance is critical to mitigate the potential harm to consumers from the collection of payload data. Because of these commitments, we are ending our inquiry into this matter at this time.

[Via CNN]

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Tags: Emails, Fines, google, hack, hacking, passwords, Sniffing, stolen, Stolen data, Street View, theft, Wi-Fi

Zach Epstein