EU Official 'Deeply Regrets' Google's New Privacy Policy
It seems that European authorities are still peeved with Google for rolling out a new privacy policy earlier this month.
The new policy allows the company to combine data from signed-in users across YouTube, Search, Gmail and other searches. While the company isn't collecting any more data than before, it now uses that data to personalize ads and other features to a greater extent.
Late last week, Isabel Falque-Pierrotin, chair of France's National Commission for Computing and Civil Liberties, said in a letter to Google CEO Larry Page that the CNIL "deeply regrets that Google did not delay the application of the new policy."
Falque-Pierrotin last month unsuccessfully tried to convince Page to delay the rollout, saying that the new policy violates a European directive requiring companies to tell people how their data will be used.
When Google rolled out the new policy on March 1, Alma Whitten, director of privacy, product and engineering, explained in a blog post how the company intends to draw upon the additional data to target ads. "In the future, if you do frequent searches for Jamie Oliver, we could recommend Jamie Oliver videos when you’re looking for recipes on YouTube -- or we might suggest ads for his cookbooks when you’re on other Google properties," Whitten wrote.
But Falque-Pierrotin wants more details. She is now requesting that Google answer dozens of questions about its new privacy policy and how, exactly, its personalization program will work. Among other questions, she is asking which Google services will collect data to personalize search results and which services will collect data to personalize ads. She also asks what types of tailored content -- other than search results and ads -- it sends to users.
In the U.S., a coalition of attorneys general expressed concerns about the change, as did consumer advocates. Federal Trade Commission chairman Jon Leibowitz lamented that Google was giving consumers a "binary and somewhat brutal" choice.
To date, however, no officials in the U.S. have said that they believe the new privacy policy is unlawful.
Recent Daily Online Examiner Articles
-
Aereokiller Agrees To Change Name May 20, 4:38 p.m.
Aereokiller, embroiled in litigation with the TV networks, is putting at least one legal dispute behind ...
-
Appeals Court Turns Away Twitter's Challenge To Subpoena May 17, 4:55 p.m.
An appellate court in New York has dismissed Twitter's appeal of a ruling requiring it to ...
-
Apple: No 'Direct Evidence' Of Ebook Price-Fixing May 16, 5:10 p.m.
Did Apple conspire with book publishers to end Amazon's $9.99-per-ebook price? That's the question at the ...
-
AT&T Stirs Controversy With Data-Cap Plans May 15, 5 p.m.
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson reportedly confirmed today that the carrier plans to let content companies pay ...
-
Pandora User Seeks To Revive Privacy Lawsuit May 14, 4:48 p.m.
In 2010, music service Pandora was one of the first companies to partner with Facebook for ...
-
New Bill Legalizes Cell-Phone Unlocking, DVD Ripping May 13, 5:05 p.m.
Consumers could once again have the right to unlock their cell phones, if a new law ...
-
Data-Cap Exemption For ESPN Raises Neutrality Concerns May 10, 6:40 p.m.
The sports network ESPN reportedly is talking with a major wireless carrier about a deal to ...
-
Righthaven Loses Bid To Revive Lawsuits May 9, 6:20 p.m.
Several years ago, attorney Steven Gibson and the publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal cooked up ...
-
Appellate Judge Says Google Books Offers 'Enormous' Benefits May 8, 4:59 p.m.
The Authors Guild's odds of winning its long-running lawsuit against Google appear to be dwindling, at ...
-
FTC Tells Data Brokers To Follow Consumer Protection Laws May 7, 6:30 p.m.
In its latest move against data brokers, the Federal Trade Commission has warned 10 companies that ...
Be the first to comment on "EU Official 'Deeply Regrets' Google's New Privacy Policy"
Leave a Comment