Google agrees to delete user data

But the ICO has ruled out fining the company over its Street View data haul

Red-faced search engine powerhouse Google has promised to delete the Wi-Fi payload data its fleet of street mapping cars erroneously collected as they criss-crossed the country.

Google issued a joint statement with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), last Friday, promising to introduce better data-handling procedures in light of the Street View controversy.

"I welcome the fact that the Wi-Fi payload data that should never have been collected in the first place can, at last, be deleted," said Christopher Graham, the Information Commissioner, in a statement.

During the course of mapping the UK's streets, Google's fleet of vehicles also collected some of the Wi-Fi traffic from properties they passed.

That amounted to a "significant breach" of UK Data Protection laws, the ICO said earlier this month, but had already ruled out fining the company.

As well as deleting the data, Google has promised to provide security awareness and data protection training for its employees.

But the company still faces on-going investigations in to its Street View privacy snafu by the European Commission, along with the US and Canadian governments.