Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2012/08/08/google_must_destroy_data/
Google ordered to destroy Oz Street View data
Privacy Commissioner demands seek, destroy, audit
Posted in Legal, 8th August 2012 03:43 GMT
The Australian Privacy Commission has followed the lead of its global counterparts demanding that Google Australia immediately destroys payload data which was siphoned by the SteetView wi-fi data sucking car squads.
In a letter sent to Google’s Head of Public Policy and Government Affairs Iarla Flynn, Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim sent a strict edict that Google should immediately destroy the data additionally demanding that an independent third party confirm that the data has been destroyed.
Pilgram has also requested that Google commits to an audit to ensure “that no other disks containing this data exist, and to advise me once this audit is completed.”
Google's Australian PR team has told El Reg "Of course, we'll continue working closely with the Privacy Commissioner on this issue.".
The matter has re-emerged following the revelations that Google was harbouring additional Street View data, after Google had advised that the original data was destroyed back in March 2011.
Google Australia notified the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) on July 27 that Google has identified more payload data collected by Google’s Street View vehicles in Australia. In the last few weeks around 11 data protection authorities in Europe had received confession from Google explaining that it still had random Street View data on its servers.
Last week Google’s French digs came under fire from France's Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), which requested that they surrender the Street View payload data . Last month, Google UK confessed it still had "in its possession a small portion of payload data collected by our Street View vehicles in the UK".
Meanwhile the Australian Privacy Commission has also announced that it has opened an official investigation onto the Anonymous data hacks against AAPT and Melbourne IT .®