ICO pursues Google over data protection

The UK’s information commissioner is seeking further improvements to Google’s privacy policies, despite the firm meeting targets set in the wake of a payload data gathering scandal.
 
Christopher Graham applauded the firm’s progress in hitting policy improvement goals following the Street View cars debacle in 2010, but wants to see the firm do more to bolster is data protection systems and to inform users of its privacy policies.
 
“The company needs to ensure its work in this area continues to evolve alongside new products and technologies,” Graham states, adding. “Google will not be filed and forgotten by the ICO.”
 
Graham notes Google has already agreed to the request, which requires it to provide an explanation of how data will be managed by new products; improve Privacy Design Documents for future projects; and ensure engineers are properly trained to implement the design document.
 
The ICO demanded Google make improvements in November, stating the collection of data by Street View cars was a “significant breach of the Data Protection Act.”
 
The UK is one of several countries where data was collected resulting in a spat of lawsuits in the US, a raid on its South Korean offices, and potential legal action in Germany.