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Search engine giant Google has reached a settlement with 38 states and the District of Columbia to pay more than $7 million over privacy issues linked to the company's Google Street View cars.
The cars were equipped with antennas and software that collected private network identification information, data frames, and payload data from private businesses and residents as they drove by, reports The Wall Street Journal.
A company spokesman said that Google works hard "to get privacy right," but in this case the company did not, admitting to the privacy violations.
In a statement, the Google spokesman said the company has rectified the problem, adding that it never intended to collect the private data at issue, nor did it even want to look at it.
Along with having to pay out $7 million, the settlement also requires Google to take some additional steps, such as:
The Google Street View settlement must still be approved by a judge. Meantime, the company has also been investigated by 12 countries over similar issues. Nine countries found Google to have violated its laws, and Google could face litigation in these countries as well.
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