Frustrated by Google's slow response, the Federal Communications Commission slapped a $25,000 fine on the company, alleging that the Web giant "deliberately impeded and delayed" its probe into the policies governing the StreetView street-mapping service.
The government started its investigation a couple of years ago after Google was found to have collected and stored payload data from unencrypted wireless networks as part of a project where it Wi-Fi-enabled Street View cars got sent around the United States and Europe. At the time, Google said this was inadvertent and that it was trying to compile a list of Wi-Fi network hotspots as a way to enhance to geolocation services on mobile devices through 'assisted-GPS.'
European regulators later forced Google to offer an opt-out service.
The heavily redacted statement (PDF) by the FCC painted Google as being too busy to respond with alacrity to its request for information and suggested more than slight frustration.
"Although a world leader in digital search capability, Google took the position that searching its employees' e-mail 'would be a time-consuming and burdensome task,'" the report said. It also said that Google refused to release the names of the individuals responsible for the program.
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