South Korean police raid Google offices over Street View

South Korean police raided the offices of Google Korea on Tuesday as part of an investigation into whether the company illegally collected personal data as part of its "Street View" service.

A South Korean police official told reporters authorities are investigating whether Google's Street View cars violated the country's privacy and communications laws by downloading personal information from Wi-Fi networks for about six months, from the end of last year until May. The official said police have confiscated computers and hard drives from Google and will issue summonses for company officials in the future.

"We began the probe after having confirmed that the company seized and kept open data as well as unauthorized private communication data collected by its special data-collecting vehicles," the police said in a statement.

"We can confirm that the police have visited Google Korea in conjunction with their investigation around data collection by Street View cars. We will cooperate with the investigation and answer any questions they have," said a Google spokeswoman via e-mail.

Google has drawn criticism from multiple countries in connection to its Street View service, which lets users of Google Maps view panoramic images of city streets. Google has admitted its Street View cars collected user information from unsecured wireless networks while taking photos and has apologized, but maintains that its actions were legal.

That response was not enough for a 37-state coalition led by Connecticut Attorney General and Democratic candidate for Senate Richard Blumenthal. The group has promised to "vigorously and aggressively" investigate whether Google violated federal laws in the process. Authorities in Italy, Spain and Australia are also investigating the incident.