Google Under Fire for Privacy Breach

As if Facebook and MySpace weren’t enough, now Google is under inspection by watchdog groups for accidentally collecting usernames, passwords, emails, URLs and other sensitive materials. Concerns were initially brought up in May when the search engine company drove around mapping cars around streets in England, but Google stated at the time that whatever data it collected was “fragmentary.” Now, Google admits on its blog that its Street View mapping service also picked up email addresses and passwords from unsecured wireless networks, among other pieces of information. Claims in Canada have also emerged after the Information Commissioners Office was notified of thousands of residents who say their privacy was violated. Google’s vice president of engineering says that they will “delete this data as soon as possible,” and that the company is “mortified by what happened.”