Google to delete Street View Wi-Fi data

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Firm signs undertaking with ICO to implement new privacy rules

Google has signed a commitment with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to adhere to a number of procedures relating to privacy in the aftermath of the collection of data from UK Wi-Fi networks by its Street View cars.

Chief among the commitments is that Google will delete the data, which it is no longer obliged to retain under UK law.

The ICO told V3.co.uk that it expects to be informed when the data is destroyed, but has not set a date for when this will happen.

Google had been required to keep the data because of a Metropolitan Police investigation that was dropped on 29 October.

It seems likely, given previous Google comments, that the company had been keeping the data until the ICO investigation was formally closed, and the firm issued a stock response when contacted by V3.co.uk for more information.

"We are pleased that the ICO have concluded their investigation, and we will be working to delete the data as soon as possible," a spokesperson said.

Google has also guaranteed to provide information to employees on the company's privacy policies, and to provide a code of conduct in line with UK data laws.

The search firm will also institute a policy that requires engineering project leaders to maintain a privacy design document for any initiative that involves the processing of significant user data.

Google will also ensure that any such documents record how user data is handled, and submit the documents for regular review by managers.

The ICO undertaking was signed by Alan Eustace, a senior vice president of engineering at Google, and was welcomed by information commissioner Christopher Graham as a way to ensure that similar breaches do not occur again.

"It is a significant achievement to have an undertaking from a major multinational corporation like Google that extends to its global policies and not just its UK activities," he said.

"We will be keeping a close watch on the progress Google makes, and will follow up with an extensive audit. Meanwhile, I welcome the fact that the Wi-Fi payload data that should never have been collected in the first place can at last be deleted."

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