[LINK] Privacy Groups Urge Google Books Judge to Protect User Privacy

[Roger Clarke]

EPIC Alert, Volume 16.20, October 23, 2009
 
http://www.epic.org/alert/epic_alert_1620.html

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[5] Privacy Groups Urge Google Books Judge to Protect User Privacy
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In hopes of influencing the revision of the Google Books Settlement
several organizations and experts issued an October 9, 2009 letter to
Google regarding the Settlement. The writers included EPIC, library
associations, nonprofit organization, and privacy authors and
publishers (represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, and the Samuelson Law,
Technology & Public Policy Clinic). The letter was written to urge
Google to include enforceable privacy protections along with the
amended settlement agreement that the company is currently negotiating.

The letter cited the failure of the settlement to ensure that readers
using the Google Book Search services will have their privacy protected
as much as readers using physical books. This failure, the letter said,
is not only the basis for some objections to the settlement, but has
also been raised as a concern by those who support the settlement.
"Providing real, enforceable privacy protections may help reduce the
number of objections that the court must consider as the case moves
forward," the letter writers argued.

The letter writers also stated that current Google Books Privacy Policy
does not go far enough, saying "We believe that it is vital that Google
commit to additional privacy protections and that such commitments be
enforceable by the court presiding over the settlement."

EPIC has been consistently involved in the Google Books settlement. On
September 4, 2009, EPIC filed papers in federal district court on the
proposed settlement between Google, authors, and publishers. The Google
Books Settlement would create a single digital library, operated by
Google, but currently fails to limit Google's use of the personal
information collected. EPIC stated that the settlement "mandates the
collection of the most intimate personal information, threatens
well-established standards that safeguard intellectual freedom, and
imperils longstanding Constitutional rights, including the right to
read anonymously." EPIC further warned that the Google Books deal
"threatens to eviscerate state library privacy laws that safeguard
library patrons in the United States."

EPIC has also conducted an in-depth analysis of the Google Books
privacy policy and found it to be lacking in satisfactory privacy
safeguards. EPIC cited several provisions in the policy that allow for
the collection, storage, and sharing of massive amounts of personally
identifiable user information. EPIC advocated for the inclusion of
privacy provisions in the Google Books Settlement and urged Google to
fix the privacy policy and improve privacy protection.

October 9, 2009 Letter Issued to Google Regarding Settlement:
     http://www.epic.org/redirect/102209gbletter.html

EPIC: Google Books Settlement and Privacy:
     http://epic.org/privacy/googlebooks/default.html

EPIC: Google Books Litigation:
     http://epic.org/privacy/googlebooks/litigation.html

EPIC: Google Books: Policy Without Privacy:
     http://epic.org/privacy/googlebooks/policy.html#policy

Google Books Privacy Policy:
     http://books.google.com/googlebooks/privacy.html

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-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/

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 the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University