Google to share Street View data

SAN JOSE, USA: Google will begin sharing the data it improperly collected over unsecured wireless networks, initially with regulators in Germany, Spain, France and Italy within the next two days.

“The software code responsible for the data collection was in 'clear violation' of Google's rules,” Eric E. Schmidt, Google's chief executive, told The Financial Times in an interview in London.

Schmidt added that Google would make public the results of internal and external audits of its Wi-Fi data collection practices.

The data is thought to include fragments of personal information like e-mail and bank account numbers. Schmidt also said the company would conduct an internal review into all its privacy practices, checking all of the codes related to collecting data.

Google had previously resisted requests from European officials and privacy advocates to hand over the data, saying it needed time to review legal issues.

Recently Google had revealed that its fleet of cars responsible for photographing streets around the world have for several years accidentally collected personal information sent by consumers over wireless networks.