14 DAY TRIAL // Google just can't seem to get over the whole Street View scandal. Well, it would get over it in a second if everyone else would let it. But just as the FCC concluded its investigation, others popped up again worldwide. The most worrying, for Google, seems to be the one in the UK.
The Information Commissioner's office had already investigated the matter and let Google off the hook. But new revelations uncovered by the FCC investigation led to the ICO reopening the case.
The new information hardly seems damning for Google, at worse the company looks incompetent. But something even more interesting has now come up, Google's new privacy manager in the UK, Stephen McCartney, worked at the ICO during the time the Street View incident was being investigated.
He was a senior official at the time, a year and a half ago, but joined Google last November. Even if he wasn't involved directly in the investigation, it surely doesn't look good for either Google or the ICO.
Especially as some in the UK are criticizing Google's closeness to the government and the party in power. The revelation in fact may not be entirely coincidental.
In any case, this is the sort of thing you expect from the RIAA and not Google. But since Google has been buddying up to the RIAA lately, maybe it's picked up on some of the lobbying group's habits as well.
The ICO is saying there's no foul play and released the communication between McCartney, now writing on behalf of Google, and the institution. Google said it does not comment on individual employees.
"The published correspondence between Google and the ICO clearly shows that Stephen McCartney was treated like any other organisation's representative, with his emails receiving nothing more than a polite acknowledgement," the ICO said in a statement.
"ICO employees continue to be legally bound by a confidentiality agreement after they leave the organisation, as part of the Data Protection Act," it added.