FCC Fines Google, Says It Was Deliberately Impeding Street View Investigation

The Federal Communications Commission is going after Google, even though they’ve officially cleared the company of charges that it had collected WiFi data illegally with its Street View Cars. While they didn’t do that on purpose, the FCC says Google was deliberately obstructing the investigation into those charges.

They’re fining Google $25,000 for not helping regulators deal with the matter, says the Washington Post.

“For many months, Google deliberately impeded and delayed the Bureau’s investigation by failing to respond to requests for material information and to provide certifications and verifications of its responses,” the filing said.

Google had claimed that the data collection was accidental, and has been investigated in other countries outside the U.S., including Canada, France and the Netherlands.

Google, obviously, disagrees with the FCC’s filing.

“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,” a Google spokesman said in a statement. “We disagree with the FCC’s characterization of our cooperation in their investigation and will be filing a response.”

Previously: Google In Hot Water For Collecting Data From Your Wireless Networks

Google fined by FCC for impeding Street View probe [Washington Post]

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