Google Settles Street View Lawsuit For $7 Million; How Did They 'Spy' On People?

Google has agreed to pay a $7 million fine following a multistate investigation into whether the Internet giant had unlawfully collected personal information. The suit alleges that Google's mobile Street View apparatus, a multi-camera attachment that stood atop a car, was able to accumulate the information through WiFi networks it encountered on its trips.

The Daily Mail reports the fine only accounts for the revenue the company makes in a single hour, causing critics to say the amount is not enough to prevent Google from violating similar laws again.

The Federal Communications Commission previously fined Google $25,000 for interfering with the ongoing investigation in 2010.

"Consumers have a right to protect their vital personal and financial information from improper and unwanted use by corporations like Google," New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement released regarding the suit.

The Empire State is one of 38 other states plus the District of Columbia that are plaintiffs in the suit.

The company blamed the entire problem on a single "rogue" programmer who allegedly attached information-gathering software to the software used by its Street View cars, and said they had no intention of accumulating personal data as its vehicles roved. The company allegedly committed the data snooping between 2008 and 2010, before the company removed the software.

In addition to the fine, Google must post a video on its YouTube site to instruct the public how to protect themselves from organizations that seek to secretly collect their personal data.