The
European Union's data protection authorities have asked Google to delay the
rollout of its new privacy policy until they have verified that it doesn't
break the bloc's data protection laws.
Google publicized its new privacy rules —
which regulate how the Web giant uses the enormous amounts of personal data its
collects through its search engine, email and other services — with much
fanfare last week.
Since then, it has launched a huge publicity
campaign informing its users around the globe of the new policy, which is set
to come into force on March 1.
But that launch date may now be under threat.
In a letter to Google Chief Executive Larry
Page, Jacob Kohnstamm, the chairman of the group of 27 national privacy
regulators in the EU, said the French data protection agency has started a probe
of the new rules and how they will affect Google users in the EU.
"We call for a pause (in the rollout of
the new rules) in the interests of ensuring that there can be no
misunderstanding about Google's commitments to information rights of their
users and EU citizens, until we have completed our analysis," Kohnstamm
wrote in the letter, which was sent Thursday and published on Friday.
Google's search engine has a market share of
more than 90 per cent in the EU, with rival services like Microsoft's Bing gaining
little traction. The EU's competition authorities are already examining whether
Google uses this dominance to stop other search engines from entering the
market.
The new policy makes it easier for Google to
combine the data of one person using different services such as the search
engine, YouTube or Gmail if he is logged into his Google account.
That allows Google to create a broader profile
of that user and thus target advertising based on that person's interests and
search history more accurately. Advertising is the main way Google makes its
money.
But the company argues that combining the data
into one profile also makes search results more relevant and allows a user to
cross-navigate between different services more easily.
Google said in a statement Friday that it had
briefed data protection agencies before making its new policy announcement and
that none of them had had substantial concerns at the time.
"Delaying the policy would cause
significant confusion," it said in the emailed note.
The company also published a letter by Global
Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer in response to Kohnstamm. Fleischer said the
main purpose of the new policy is to combine the more than 70 different rules
for Google's wide-ranging services into one, that is simpler and more readable.
"Our updated privacy policy makes it
clear in one comprehensive document that if a user is signed in we may combine
information she has provided from one service with information from other
services," Fleischer wrote. He added that people can continue to use
Google services without being logged into an account or create different profiles
for different services.
Koosje Verhaar, a spokeswoman for Kohnstamm,
who is also the head of the Dutch data protection agency, said she couldn't
comment on how long the analysis of the new policy will take.
She declined to say whether there were
specific parts of the new rules that triggered the probe, but added that the
data protection authorities of several nations, including France, Ireland and
Germany, had already publicly expressed concerns over the policy just days
after it was announced.
AP
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment