Google has been fined $25,000 for supposedly getting in the way of a U.S. investigation into how the company collects data for its Street View project, which lets users visibly review street level images when they map a particular location.
In return for this obstruction, Google has been slapped with a $25,000 fine by the Federal Communications Commission.
Ultimately, Google probably has that much in loose change around the sofas of the company’s headquarters. But the fine is still significant in what it represents, not how much fiscal damage it does to the company.
“For many months, Google deliberately impeded and delayed the Bureau’s investigation by failing to respond to requests for material information and to provide certifications and verifications of its responses,” FCC’s filing reads. “Google refused to identify any employees or produce any e-mails. The company could not supply compliant declarations without identifying employees it preferred not to identify.”
“Misconduct of this nature threatens to compromise the commission’s ability to effectively investigate possible violations of the Communications Act and the commission’s rules.”
Google says it provided all requested information and is puzzled by the claims from FCC officials, which imply that Google was somehow uncooperative.
“As the FCC notes in their report, we provided all the materials the regulators felt they needed to conclude their investigation and we were not found to have violated any laws,” Google said in a statement. “We disagree with the FCC’s characterization of our cooperation in their investigation and will be filing a response.”
