Google deactivates Gmail account after bank error
Published: 29 Sep 2009 08:14 BST
A bank that accidentally sent sensitive customer information to a Gmail address and persuaded a judge to order Google to deactivate the account has resolved the issue with Google and the companies have filed a motion to dismiss the case.
Google spokesman Andrew Pederson declined to say exactly how the issue was resolved or to identify the owner of the Gmail account.
The problem began on 12 August when a worker at Rocky Mountain Bank inadvertently sent an email containing the names, addresses, Social Security numbers and loan information of more than 1,300 customers to a random Gmail address.
When the worker realised the mistake, a subsequent email was sent to the address asking that the recipient contact the bank and destroy the data, but the bank heard no word, according to a MediaPost report.
The bank asked Google for information on the owner of the Gmail address, but Google said the bank had to get a court order to get access to that information. Last week, a judge in the US District Court in San Jose, California, ordered Google to deactivate the Gmail account and Google complied, Pederson said.
"After notifying the account owner, we complied with the court's order. However, after working with Rocky Mountain Bank and the court, we resolved the issue around the bank's error, and both sides have agreed to vacate the TRO and dismiss the case," he said.
"While we regret that the user has been locked out of their account through no fault of their own, we're not legally able to reactivate the account until the court approves our motion to dismiss the case and vacate the TRO," Pederson added. "We're hopeful that the court will act quickly, and as soon as the motion is approved, we'll reactivate the account."
Calls to Rocky Mountain Bank and the court clerk were not immediately returned on Monday.
Credit: Google, bank resolve issue over misfired email from CNET News
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