• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, September 4, 2009

In yet another sign that the Federal Trade Commission is concerned about online advertising and privacy, Bureau of Consumer Protection head David Vladeck specifically asked Google to adhere to the agency's behavioral advertising self-regulatory principles in its new book initiative.

"We have concerns about Google gaining access to vast amounts of consumer data regarding the books consumers search for, purchase, and read," Vladeck wrote in a letter sent this week to Jane Horvath, global privacy counsel at Google. "Given these concerns, we asked that, to the extent Google will use consumer data collected through Google Books to deliver targeted advertising, Google publicly commit to complying with the FTC's self-regulatory principles for behavioral advertising."

Vladeck additionally urged Google to develop a privacy policy specific to its book search project.

Google responded late yesterday by issuing a privacy policy just for its new book project. Among other provisions, the company said it would go to court to protect people's First Amendment right to read anonymously -- at least in jurisdictions where that right is recognized.

Google also said that it intends to limit the information that's available to credit card companies about the books people purchase. "Users will need to have Google Accounts in order to purchase books because such information is necessary to provide access to the user who bought the book. However, we plan to build protections to limit the information (such as book titles) available to credit card companies about book purchases, and to enable you to delete or disassociate the titles of books purchased from your Google Account," the company said.

Google's plan to digitize and sell books, including out-of-print books that are under copyright, is currently under review by U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin in New York. The plan is part of a sweeping settlement of a copyright lawsuit brought by authors and publishers. The proposed settlement has proven controversial, with a number of other companies and organizations weighing in with concerns that range from whether the plan violates antitrust laws to whether Google will adequately protect book purchasers' privacy.

At this point, it's not clear whether Google will satisfy the FTC's privacy concerns about the initiative. Chair Jon Leibowitz said he was "pleased that Google has listened to FTC staff's concerns and agreed to take initial steps" to protect privacy, but added that the agency would continue to monitor the situation. "As Google Books evolves, we'll work to ensure that the privacy of online readers is fact, not fiction."

Meanwhile, privacy advocates think Google needs to do more. The Electronic Privacy Information Center filed papers today opposing the settlement, arguing that the search company should commit to protecting privacy as part of the settlement agreement. The group says that a privacy policy doesn't substitute for legally enforceable terms that are built into a court document.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation agrees. While the EFF says the new policy has some plusses -- such as the commitment to let people delete titles from their accounts -- the group also thinks that more needs to be done. "Like all privacy policies, it is ... easily changeable by Google," says EFF legal director Cindy Cohn. "What we're asking for here is more than a 'business as usual' privacy policy like that applicable to a basic website."