Google Failed to Delete Street View Data in France

The French data protection authorities asked Google on July 31 to examine private information that cars taking pictures for its Street View service collected, after Google acknowledged that it had retained some of the information despite promising to delete it.

The request by the French privacy protection agency, known as the C.N.I.L., followed a similar one last week from the Information Commissioner’s Office of Britain. The C.N.I.L. fined the company €100,000, or $120,000, in March 2011 for collecting private e-mail messages, computer passwords and other personal data as its cars took pictures for Google’s Street View feature, a case that prompted privacy investigations around the world. “Like its British counterpart, the C.N.I.L. has asked Google to make available the data in question and to keep it secure while the necessary investigations are conducted,” the agency said.