Google Street View breached privacy: Commissioner

OTTAWA – An investigation by Canada’s privacy commissioner has found Google breached privacy laws while it scoured Canadian streets in a specially designed vehicle for its popular Google Street View feature.

The investigation found the technology giant gathered email addresses, passwords, usernames and other personal information from unsecured wireless networks in Canadian neighbourhoods.

The commissioner’s office, in a news release, said the breaches were "the result of an engineer’s careless error" and that a lack of privacy control measures were also responsible.

"Our investigation shows that Google did capture personal information – and, in some cases, highly sensitive personal information such as complete emails," privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said in the news release. "This incident was a serious violation of Canadians’ privacy rights.

"The impact of new and rapidly evolving technologies on modern life is undeniably exciting. However, the consequences for people can be grave if the potential privacy implications aren’t properly considered at the development stage of these new technologies."

The information was gathered after a code was put in the program that was used to detect wireless signals. The code, which was put in place by one of Google’s engineers in 2006, allowed for the gathering of the content included in the wireless networks. Google, however, has said it was not aware the code was being used in the software associated with its Google Street View cars, which have mapped out street-level maps of many Canadian regions.

Stoddart, who said the breach was "careless" and easily avoidable, recommended that Google work to establish tighter restrictions to ensure it complies with privacy laws and to increase privacy training for its staff.