An inquiry by the UK information commissioner has found that Google violated UK data protection laws when it collected payload data from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks in the country.
In May 2010, Google admitted it had collected the data from Wi-Fi networks, but said it had done so inadvertently. The incident triggered investigations in several countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, South Korea and the U.S.
The result of this investigation is similar to the outcome in Canada: Google was found guilty of violating the law, but was not fined and a criminal investigation was not launched.
UK Information Commissioner Christopher Graham had the power to impose an $800,000 fine, but instead said the “most appropriate and proportionate regulatory action in these circumstances is to get written legal assurance from Google that this will not happen again – and to follow this up with an ICO audit.”