The British Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has cleared Google of collecting "meaningful personal details" using their Street View cars.

The controversy took off in May when Google announced that their Street View cars, which collect videos for Google Maps, also had been collecting Wi-Fi data including some payload traffic. The company said it was a mistake; that the collection software had been reused from another project and that they had not intended to collect payload data for Street View. Furthermore, the collection software changed channels frequently and the cars were generally moving, so it was unlikely that any meaningful traffic was collected or that it could be traced back to individuals.

Representatives of the ICO visited Google's offices and examined samples of the collected data and verified Google's claims. "The information we saw does not include meaningful personal details that could be linked to an identifiable person...it is unlikely that Google will have captured significant amounts of personal data. There is also no evidence as yet that the data captured by Google has caused or could cause any individual detriment." They still criticize Google for collecting the data, even though it was by accident.

Hat tip to InformationWeek.

Originally posted to the PCMag.com security blog, Security Watch.