Google settles Street View data collection case for $13 million

Google may get away with paying a $13 million settlement in the United States for the 2010 privacy scandal surrounding the collection of private data via Street View cars. A judge has yet to approve the settlement.

Google and the prosecutor agree to the settlement, Bloomberg writes. It concerns a group of Americans who have sued the search giant because of the data collection that came to light in 2010. Then it turned out that Street View cars collected a lot of data when they passed Wi-Fi networks that were not secured. For example, passwords and e-mails were retrieved.

About twenty Americans who have united in a class-action lawsuit would receive money from Google. Paying other Americans whose private information has been intercepted is complicated, according to prosecutors’ lawyers.

The money Google will pay with the proposed settlement would also go to interest groups and education about how to secure Wi-Fi networks. Google will also delete all data it still has and provide more information about privacy on the internet.

The case in the United States has been going on for years. Google stated that it was legal to receive data from open networks, because it would be equivalent to, for example, radio transmissions. A judge ruled against Google in 2013.