Google ordered to delete Street View data

Google, the world’s largest search engine, has been given 35 days by Britain’s data protection watchdog to remove wireless network data collected by its cars for its Street View service in the country.

Google is legally obliged under yesterday’s enforcement notice to delete any remaining data in the given time, or be held in “contempt of court, which is a criminal offence,” the UK regulator said in a statement.

“The early days of Google Street View,” which allows users to see photographs of roadsides, “should be seen as an example of what can go wrong if technology companies fail to understand how their products are using personal information,” said Stephen Eckersley, head of enforcement at the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office.