Google overhauling its privacy policies

[Dennis]

I found this interesting.....

Google Will Forget You Asked


By Walaika Haskins
TechNewsWorld
03/15/07 1:34 PM PT

Google announced Wednesday it will soon overhaul its privacy policies. Under the new plan, all information logged from its search users -- keyword queries, IP addresses, and cookies, for example -- will be scrubbed after 18 to 24 months. Privacy advocates say it's a step in the right direction, but see much room for improvement.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/56321.html

[chefcraig]

Sooooo...that one drunken evening searching "Porn chicks and horses" will live to haunt me for two years?

[Limecuda]

OMG.....we were on the same site.

[ZeoBandit]

And I own that site!

[Dennis]

Sooooo...that one drunken evening searching "Porn chicks and horses" will live to haunt me for two years?

lol....soon, after 18-24 months, no one but you will know you ever did it.

I promise not tell anyone.

[AT]

My search for ex-girlfriends only ever yielded info about how now they're all ugly and married and/or divorced anyway...

[The Rover]

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...y-changes.html

Consumer Groups Want Public Hearing on Google Privacy Changes

A closed-door Congressional briefing isn't enough, the groups argue

02/27/2012 | James R. Hood | ConsumerAffairs.com

Congress is looking into the controversy over Google's revised privacy policies but five consumer groups are concerned there'll be a little too much privacy surrounding the inquiry.

The consumer organizations have written to the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade calling for public hearings on Google's planned privacy changes, not secret briefing.

The letter to committee chair Rep. Bono Mack, (R-Calif.) and Rep. G.K. Butterfield, (D-N.C.), the committee's ranking member said:

“We understand that you are planning to hold another closed-door briefing session about Google’s March 1 planned changes. While we very much appreciate your ongoing interest in this issue, we strongly object to a second secret meeting with Google. There is absolutely no reason that there could not be a public hearing. Even Google is committed to transparency.”

Signing the letter were Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD), John M. Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, Susan Grant of the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and Ed Mierzwinski of the US Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG).

“We also strongly recommend that Google be told to suspend the planned March 1 changes until (1) a public hearing occurs and (2) a determination is made by the Federal Trade Commission as to whether Google’s changes comply with the 2011 Consent Order,” the letter said.


Significant developments

The letter noted significant developments since Google announced intention to change its privacy policy and data handling policies:

Members of Congress of both parties have expressed objection to the proposed changes;

Thirty-six state Attorneys General have pointed to problems for Android users;

Technical experts have found that Google bypassed privacy settings in both the Safari and the Internet Explorer browser, according to reports first published by The Wall Street Journal;

The federal government has determined that the proposed changes in Google’s terms of service would violate privacy safeguards for users of Google services in the federal government;

The top Justice Minister in Europe has asked the company to pause pending a determination as to whether the changes comply with European privacy law; and

The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, announced by the White House last Thursday, may have a bearing on the new policy.

"Google’s widely touted notification efforts are entirely beside the point, the letter concluded. “It doesn’t matter how loudly Google speaks; what matters is what Google plans to do with the data it previously collected on Internet users after March 1st."