[LINK] Privacy groups: Google's call for standard not enough

[Roger Clarke]

[As I'm saying in a seminar on Wednesday, people are wide-awake to Google:
http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/DV/Googacy-070919.html  ]

[EPIC, PIRG and CDT are mentioned in the article below.  And PI was 
quoted in the FT.  But the significant thing is that MacWorld and the 
FT already know, and know where to get their quotes.]

Privacy groups: Google's call for standard not enough
By Grant Gross, IDG News Service
http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/09/17/privacy/index.php

The U.S. government still needs to block or impose conditions on
Google's acquisition of online advertising server DoubleClick, despite
Google's call for global privacy standards, three privacy groups said
Monday.

Google last Friday called for a global privacy standard, and the company
referred to a framework designed by Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC).

But the APEC standard is "weak," Melissa Ngo, director of the
Identification and Surveillance Project at the Electronic Privacy
Information Center (EPIC), said during a press conference Monday. The
APEC standard "puts the burden on consumers to prove they are being
harmed," she said.

Google's call for a global privacy standard does not allay concerns that
privacy groups have with Google's proposed US$3.1 billion purchase of
DoubleClick, said Amina Fazlullah, staff attorney with consumer group
U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG).

Consolidation in the online advertising market could lead to more demand
for consumers' private information, Fazlullah said. In addition, Web
sites will have few choices for which vendors to deliver their ads, she
said. "The resulting Google company will have a lot of control over what
we can actually see, read and hear about online," Fazlullah said. "That
is definitely problematic for consumers, but also for greater democratic
concerns."

A Google spokesman said the APEC privacy standard is just one model the
company has pointed to. Google also supports the U.S. Federal Trade
Commission's town hall meeting on the evolving online advertising
market, to be held in early November, spokesman Adam Kovacevich said.

EPIC's complaints about Google's privacy policies are "unsupported by
the facts and the law," Google added in a statement.

"Google aggressively protects user privacy, and user trust is central to
Google's values and essential to the success of our products," Google
said. "We have engaged with numerous privacy and consumer advocates to
discuss and explain our acquisition of DoubleClick, but unfortunately
EPIC has refused every offer we have made to meet with them. We can only
conclude that EPIC would prefer not to be informed about the erroneous
claims it is making."

But the privacy groups said Google continues to collect a "massive"
amount of data about users.

"There is no greater threat to competition in the online market and also
a threat to privacy than the Google/DoubleClick merger," said Jeff
Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy.

Combining Google's search dominance with DoubleClick's display
advertising dominance "will give Google an overwhelming share of control
of the online advertising market," he added.

-- 
Roger Clarke                  http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/

Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in Info Science & Eng  Australian National University
Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program      University of Hong Kong
Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW