Google's Anthem: Oh, Canada, We Breached Your Privacy...

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Google Street View vehicles that accidentally captured individuals' personal information committed a serious violation of Canadians' privacy rights, the country's Privacy Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, said yesterday.


 User names and passwords, unredacted email addresses, and individuals' names, addresses and residential phone numbers were among the data scanned from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks by vehicles owned by the Mountain View, Calif.-based Google, according to a report by CNBC News.  Commissioner Stoddart has given Google until Feb. 1, 2011, to expunge the improperly compiled data.


Google has drawn international criticism for its alleged breach of privacy, including from the Czech Republic (see "TUOL" post 9/22/10), Australia (see "TUOL" post 7/9/10) and among Attorneys General in the U.S. (see "TUOL" post 6/16/10).