[LINK] one US Rep Congresswoman on regulating Google, Dems not happy either

[Jan Whitaker]

[this is heavy; Republicans are against regulation as a rule]

Republican: Google inviting regulation
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/206921-republican-how-can-we-ever-trust-google

By Brendan Sasso - 01/26/12 05:45 PM ET

GOP Rep. Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) on Thursday 
ripped Google for consolidating its privacy 
policies and said the company is inviting government regulation.

“After all the controversies Google has become 
entangled, the question people keep asking is ­ 
how can we ever begin to trust Google?" Blackburn asked in a statement.

"I’ve always said private industry needs to take 
the lead in providing consumer choice and 
transparency before big government rushes in to 
regulate. But Google’s move to eradicate consumer 
choice all together across their various 
platforms raises additional questions about how 
the company’s monopoly power might hurt 
competition and how their action might 
unilaterally and unnecessarily invite even 
broader government regulations on everyone else.”

Google announced on Tuesday it will consolidate 
the privacy policies of its various services into 
a single document. The company said the change 
will make its privacy policy simpler and easier 
to understand, but many consumers are expressing outrage.

The changes would allow Google to share 
information between its services. Users could 
begin seeing advertisements in Gmail based on 
videos they watched on YouTube, for example.

In an email to Google users on Thursday, the 
company said the changes will allow it to tailor 
its services to individual users.

"If you're signed into Google, we can do things 
like suggest search queries ­ or tailor your 
search results ­ based on the interests you've 
expressed in Google+, Gmail, and YouTube," the 
company explained. "We'll better understand which 
version of Pink or Jaguar you're searching for 
and get you those results faster."

In a statement, a Google spokeswoman said the 
goal of the changes is to make the policy easier 
to understand and that the company's privacy practices have not changed.

"Users still have control over what data they 
choose to share when using our services," the spokeswoman said.

"People don’t need to log in to use many of our 
services, including Search, Maps and YouTube. 
When someone does log in to use our services, we 
give them ways to control how the information in 
their account is used. For example, they can use 
the Google Dashboard to see and control what 
information we associate with their account. They 
can also turn off search personalization, turn 
off or edit their search history, turn their 
Gmail chats to “off the record” and use the Ads 
Preferences Manager to control how ads are tailored to them."

Google is already under scrutiny for potentially 
engaging in anti-competitive behavior by giving a 
boost to its own services in its search results. 
The company sparked further controversy with its 
"Search plus Your World" feature, which 
highlights Google's own social networking content in its search results.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is 
investigating whether Google has violated anti-trust law.

--------
Markey calls for FTC probe of Google privacy changes
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/206899-markey-calls-for-ftc-probe-of-google-privacy-changes
By Brendan Sasso - 01/26/12 04:54 PM ET

Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) on Thursday said he 
will ask the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to 
probe whether Google's recent privacy changes 
violate the company's settlement with the agency.

"All consumers should have the right to say no to 
sharing of their personal information, 
particularly when young people are involved," 
Markey said. "Google's new privacy policy should 
enable consumers to opt-out if they don’t want 
their use of YouTube to morph into YouTrack. 
Consumers ­ not corporations ­ should have 
control over their own personal information, 
especially for children and teens."
[snip]

But Markey said those changes could violate the 
settlement that Google reached with the FTC last year.

The FTC charged Google with violating its own 
privacy policy by automatically opting users in 
to its now defunct social network, Google Buzz.

To settle the charges, Google agreed to not 
misrepresent its privacy practices or change the 
way it uses or shares consumer data without obtaining consent first.

----------

Lawmakers grill Google on privacy
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/206877-lawmakers-question-googles-privacy-changes
By Brendan Sasso - 01/26/12 03:55 PM ET

Lawmakers expressed concern Thursday about 
Google's revamped privacy policy and demanded the 
Web giant detail how it plans to use consumer 
information collected from sites such as YouTube, Google+ and Gmail.

"Google's consolidation of its privacy policies 
potentially touches billions of people 
worldwide," the lawmakers wrote in a letter to 
Google CEO Larry Page. "As an Internet giant, 
Google has a responsibility to protect the 
privacy of its users. Therefore, we are writing 
to learn why Google feels that these changes are 
necessary, and what steps are being taken to 
ensure the protection of consumers' privacy rights."
[snip]
The lawmakers asked Google to explain what 
information it collects, how its various services 
share information and what control users have 
over the information they provide to Google.

"While Google suggests that the purpose of this 
shift in policy is to make the consumer 
experience simpler, we want to make sure it does 
not make protecting consumer privacy more complicated," the lawmakers wrote.

They also said users should be able to opt out of the data collection.

The letter was signed by Reps. Cliff Stearns 
(R-Fla.), Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Joe Barton 
(R-Texas), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Marsha 
Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), 
G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) and Jackie Speier 
(D-Calif.). Every member except Speier serves on 
the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Google defended the privacy changes and promised to work with lawmakers.

"We look forward to answering their questions and 
clarifying misconceptions about our privacy 
policy changes, especially around user controls," 
a Google spokesman said. "Our goal with the 
change is to make it easier for users to 
understand our policy but it's important to 
understand that our privacy practices have not 
changed. Users still have control over what data 
they choose to share when using our services."
[snip]

Lawmakers requested a response from Google by Feb. 16.

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com

Our truest response to the irrationality of the 
world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

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