Google has agreed to pay a $25,000 fine levied against it by the FCC earlier this month after the government entity said it was impeding in its data collection investigation. “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,” an FCC dated April 13th said. Google originally disagreed with the FCC’s decision to issue a fine and said that it was cooperating fully with the investigation.
In what appears to be a change of heart, Google agreed to pay the fine “in order to put this investigation behind it.” The FCC believes Google’s decision to pay the fine, which seems like more of a slap on the wrist, actually shows the company is admitting it has infringed on the investigation. ”In promising to pay the bureau’s penalty, the company has rightly admitted wrongdoing,” FCC spokeswoman Tammy Sun told The Wall Street Journal Friday.
[via The Verge, The Wall Street Journal]