Google glitch
South Korean police have raided Google's office in Seoul, South Korea as part of a probe into the search provider's ‘illegal' collection of data for its Street View mapping site.
The National Police Agency has confiscated hard drives and documents from Google's offices and has told the search giant to hand over all data collected illegally by its Street View cars from late 2009 until this May, according to Bloomberg.
Korean media reported a total of 19 police rushed into the office, while the BBC said Korean officials are expected to haul Google execs in for investigation once the police have finished their analysis on the seized office goods.
In a statement the Korean National Police Agency, reportedly said: "(The police) have been investigating Google Korea LLC on suspicion of unauthorized collection and storage of data on unspecified Internet users from Wi-Fi networks."
The Korean investigation is the latest in a series over the firm's data collection practices, with enquiries already underway in Europe and the US.
Google admitted in May it had collected unencrypted wireless internet data ‘by mistake' from homes and businesses while photographing streets across the globe for its 360 degree views of roads, blaming the problem on a rogue piece of code in its software.
Germany was the first country to ask to audit Google's collected data prompting other countries that had been mapped by Street View cars to follow suit, including a multi state US investigation headed up by Connecticut's attorney general, Richard Blumenthal.
The company has been sued in California due to allegedly violating local wiretapping and privacy laws, according to Bloomberg.
However, in better news, last month Hong Kong's privacy commissioner reportedly said the country will not launch a formal probe as the data excluded any ‘meaningful' individual information. A similar conclusion was also drawn by the UK's Information Commissioner's Office.
In a bid to keep an eye on the search giant, Google will now have to run any ‘significant' new products past Australia's privacy commissioner for the next three years, before they enter the country.
With fleets of Street View cars grounded in various cities while investigations are conducted, Google will reportedly introduce Street View for 20 of Germany's largest cities before the end of the year. The firm has also set its cars' wheels in motion in Norway, Sweden, South Africa and Ireland after removing the kit that collected the private information.
