[LINK] Letter to Google from the Antipodes

[Jan Whitaker]

Heat turned up on Google's privacy blur

March 6, 2012 - 9:44AM

Privacy commissioners in Asia Pacific have clubbed together to put 
the heat on Google over its controversial new 
<http://www.theage.com.au/technology/if-you-use-google-you-may-want-to-read-this-20120229-1u1i9.html>privacy 
policy.

Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities, a body representing the privacy 
commissioners of New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong 
and South Korea, revealed it had written to Google chief executive 
Larry Page to raise concerns about the policy, which came into effect 
on Thursday.

The changes let Google combine information that people provide when 
using different services, such as Google's search service, Gmail, 
YouTube and social networking service Google Plus, allowing it to 
better tailor advertisements to match users' interests and so raise 
more money from online advertising.

The authorities said Google was making it harder for people to 
segregate their online identities when using Google applications. The 
policy also removed some obligations on Google to quickly delete data 
after customer requests and confirmed Google could collect 
information on race, religion, sexual orientation and health.

The letter, signed by Australian privacy commissioner Timothy 
Pilgrim, questioned whether Google's "dashboard", which helps people 
manage privacy settings, was easy to find or use.

Google's global privacy counsel, Peter Fleischer, replied that the 
new policy would let it better integrate its applications and create 
a "better experience".

"For example, if a user is signed in and searching Google for cooking 
recipes, our current privacy policies wouldn't let us recommend 
cooking videos when she visits YouTube based on her searches - even 
though she was signed into the same Google account when using both 
Google search and YouTube."

People could still maintain multiple identities with Google by 
establishing separate accounts with different Gmail addresses.

New Zealand Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff said she was not fully 
satisfied with that response, which was "unlikely to be a complete answer".

"Data protection authorities around the world are examining Google's 
recent policy changes closely. I expect there will be other questions 
and concerns to discuss with Google," she said.

Shroff said last month that Google users needed to be aware that the 
company's business model relied on being able to deliver targeted 
advertising and that demographic data it collected on users provided 
"the raw fuel".

The changes have come in for the sternest criticism in Europe; United 
States commentators have been more accepting.

Ad Feedback European justice commissioner Viviane Reding has 
questioned the legality of the policy changes and said if people were 
to give up their privacy it should be a decision they made with all 
facts made available to them, not by a company acting in a "sneaking" way.

But news agency Bloomberg said privacy advocates were over- reacting. 
"Google is not collecting any new information; rather, it is sharing 
- with itself - more of the information it already has," it said.

"When you're messaging your spouse about dinner from your mobile 
phone and you see an ad for that takeout Chinese place you searched 
for a month before, you may find it convenient or creepy, or maybe a 
little of both. Either way, it is the future."

Stuff.co.nz

This story was found at: 
http://www.theage.com.au/technology/security/heat-turned-up-on-googles-privacy-blur-20120306-1uf4v.html 




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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