Google's troubles stemming from the Street View incident, where Google collected Wi-Fi data from private, unencrypted networks, are far from over.
After an investigation into the incident, Australia's privacy commissioner Karen Curtis said Google broke Australia's privacy law by collecting private Wi-Fi data.
It hardly comes as a surprise; several other countries, including the U.S., are investigating the incident, and in May, Australia’s communications minister Stephen Conroy openly attacked Google, calling its privacy policies “a bit creepy.”
"Collecting personal information in these circumstances is a very serious matter. Australians should reasonably expect that private communications remain private," Curtis said in a statement. Curtis said the privacy act prevented her from imposing punishment on Google; however, Google promised to consult with her on personal data activities in Australia, as well as conduct a privacy impact assessment on any new Street View projects involving personal data.
Google originally apologized for the incident in a blog post. Additionally, Google's top engineering exec Alan Eustace posted a public apology to Australia on the Google Australia blog.
"We want to reiterate to Australians that this was a mistake for which we are sincerely sorry. Maintaining people’s trust is crucial to everything we do and we have to earn that trust every single day. We are acutely aware that we failed badly here," wrote Eustace.