Google nearing $7 million settlement

Google is nearing a deal in which it would pay $7 million to resolve investigations with more than 30 state attorneys general over its controversial Street View program, in which it captured data from private Wi-Fi signals while taking street-level images throughout the world, said a person familiar with the looming agreement.

The deal, which is expected to be announced soon, would likely end the U.S. regulatory scrutiny of one of the most damaging episodes in the history of the California-based search giant. Google officials declined to comment on reports of a looming settlement with U.S. state attorneys general, but on March 8, spokeswoman Nadia Blagojevic said of the Street View program: “We work hard to get privacy right at Google. But in this case we didn’t, which is why we quickly tightened up our systems to address the issue.” The Connecticut attorney general’s office, which took the lead on the Street View investigation, declined to comment on reports of a settlement, saying that the probe is “active and ongoing.” The $7 million fine, if confirmed by the state attorneys general, would average less than $250,000 per state. It was not clear whether the agreement will include any admission of improper action by Google or any limits on its future practices.