Google may be forced to delete private data, Privacy Commission warns

Australia’s Assistant Privacy Commissioner Mark Hummerston says internet giant Google could be forced to delete the information it recovered from private WiFi networks, including personal emails, as part of an investigation into the privacy blunder.

The company also continues to face intense scrutiny overseas, where commissioners in France have obtained copies of the data Google recovered during its Street View expeditions.

Hummerston told The Australian that while Google has admitted it “made a mistake” by collecting private data, there is a possibility the data could be deleted. Such measures have already been taken overseas, specifically in Europe.

“That’s certainly one of the things we are thinking very carefully about,” he said. “At this point, we haven’t examined the payload data collected – nor has Google. We’ve told Google not to examine it.”

Hummerston also said it is unknown how many Australians were involved in the breach, and warned users to protect their wireless networks with secure passwords and other types of safeguards.

He also said the privacy commissioner is continuing to hold discussions with the Attorney-General and the Australian Federal Police over the matter.

The situation is an indicator of how serious the matter has become. The incident, which actually occurred three years ago, saw Google accidentally recover data from private WiFi networks as it drove around residential areas for its Street View maps feature.

Despite Google’s claim the breaches were accidental, it has sparked massive investigations in several countries including Britain, Germany, France and the United States. Privacy commissioners worldwide have held talks with company representatives.

Recently communications minister Stephen Conroy said the incident was the “single-greatest privacy breach” in the Western World, and said users’ banking details could have been taken by the company.

However, the company has disputed that, saying it could only have taken unsecured data and, in any case, it has not examined what it took.

But this hasn’t stopped investigators overseas. Privacy advocates in France were satisfied last week as the country’s watchdog obtained copies of emails and browsing histories Google recorded during the incident.

The watchdog, CNIL, is still examining the data but said it could possibly seek financial or criminal ramifications due to the breach, chief Yann Padova told reporters at a news conference.

Additionally, police in Germany and Austria have already begun their own investigations. Germany consumer protection minister Ilse Aigner is currently planning another meeting with Google, telling AP that “we have a lot of questions and we are expecting answers”.