EU's Next Global Target: Google Company May Violate Privacy Laws By Storing User Data
93595
By Kevin J. O'Brien and Thomas  Crampton  Thomas Crampton reported from Paris.  *  In the latest example of a U.S.
521176
BRUSSELS, May 25 -- An independent European Union panel is investigating whether Google's Internet search engine follows European privacy rules, which tend to be stricter than those in the United States.
592960
Google has responded to a U.S. congressman&#39;s series of questions about its privacy practices, with the company defending its use of consumer data.Representative Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, sent a letter to Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt Dec. 12, after privacy groups raised questions about the implications of Google&#39;s US$3.1 billion acquisition of online ad server DoubleClick.During an earlier meeting with Schmidt, Barton had &quot;voiced concern regarding the potential consumer protection and privacy implications of the merger,&quot; Barton said in his letter. &quot;I believe Google&#39;s participation in our research into and consideration of the consumer protection implications of a merger of any online search engine and any behavioral or targeted advertising firms is vital to crafting sound national policy.&quot;In response to Barton&#39;s questions about the privacy implications of the merger, Google repeated its calls for Congress to pass a national privacy law that would create a &quot;uniform framework for privacy.&quot;&quot;Concerns about online privacy cannot be solved by one company alone,&quot; said the Google letter, by Alan Davidson, the company&#39;s head of U.S. public policy. &quot;Moreover, both technologies and best practices for protecting privacy are changing rapidly. We therefore encourage you and your staff to ask these questions of other providers of online services.&quot;Barton, ranking minority member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, had asked Google to respond to his letter before Dec. 18, about when the U.S. Federal Trade Commission was expected to complete its examination of the antitrust implications of the merger. Google&#39;s response was dated Friday, one day after the FTC announced it would not block the DoubleClick acquisition. Google hosted Barton&#39;s staff at its headquarters Wednesday and Thursday, however.The FTC approval is the last U.S. hurdle for the merger; the European Union is still reviewing it.Barton&#39;s letter asked several questions about Google&#39;s privacy practices, including how long Google retains search queries, e-mail drafted on Google&#39;s Gmail service and Web histories. Barton also asked why Google needed to retain data.The IP (Internet Protocol) addresses associated with search queries will be partially deleted after 18 months, as Google previously has announced, the letter said. In other services, such as Gmail and Google Web History, the privacy preferences are customized by individual users, the letter said.Google retains data about searches as a way to improve its search algorithms and to improve services such as the spell checking feature on Google search, the letter said. The company also uses the data to fight click fraud and other malicious efforts, the letter said.Barton also asked if Google plans to merge its consumer data with DoubleClick&#39;s after the merger. He asked what was the benefit of the merger if Google did not plan to merge data.&quot;We are new to the third-party display ad serving business, so we have not yet decided whether or how we would merge DoubleClick and Google data,&quot; Davidson&#39;s letter said.The merger would create &quot;numerous efficiencies&quot; not related to DoubleClick&#39;s data, Davidson added. &quot;Acquiring DoubleClick&#39;s expertise in display ad serving will assist Google in its efforts to design an integrated interface for advertisers to manage their texts and display advertising campaigns,&quot; the letter said. &quot;In addition, the acquisition will allow Google to provide advertisers with better metrics for the display ads the place in our advertising network.&quot;
692653
European lawmakers plan to take the unusual step of pressing antitrust regulators next month to look at privacy concerns raised by Google Inc.'s intended takeover of online ad tracker DoubleClick.
274078
A European Union probe fueled by concerns over how long Google stores user information has widened to include all Internet search engines.
590086
A European consumer group has complained that Google Inc.&#39;s proposed acquisition of online ad broker DoubleClick Inc. could hurt privacy rights due to the massive amount of data the companies would hold.
493186
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE SAN FRANCISCO - Google Inc.'s privacy practices are the worst among the Internet's top destinations, according to a watchdog group seeking to intensify the recent focus on how the online search leader handles personal information about its users.
262185
The EU's data protection commissioner says IP addresses should be regarded as personal information, a view, which, if adopted, would profoundly affect the privacy policies of companies like Google and Yahoo.
264954
Google Inc, the world&#39;s largest  Internet company, will propose at a meeting of international  policymakers in France on Friday that national regulators agree  on a basic set of global privacy protections.
416719
Google calls on governments and business to agree a set of global standards to protect internet privacy.
583389
Google attacked European parliamentarians and privacy advocates on Monday for trying to have competition authorities consider the handling of personal information in its $3.1 billion takeover of rival DoubleClick.
565113
Calls it a "public policy dialogue" A week after Privacy International ranked the privacy practices of 23 major web companies and put Google at the very bottom of the list, the Mountain View-based search giant has launched a brand new blog where it will regularly address matters of Internet privacy and other public policy issues, including copyright and trademark protection, online safety for children, content regulation, and patent reform.â¦
151012
Google says 'there's no black and white answer' The European Union moved closer to labelling Internet Protocol addresses as personal information yesterday at a public hearing of the Civil Liberties Committee.â¦
159360
A proposed law would require companies to keep detailed data about peopleâs Internet and phone use that goes beyond a European Union directive.
347533
The European Union's data watchdog  will take months to decide whether Google  may be  violating European privacy laws, a spokeswoman for the group  said on Thursday.
231314
Data protection officials from 27 European countries have warned Google it is storing data on people's searches for too long.
207215
Will keep your data for 18 months Google is cutting back the time it holds user-identifying data - a little. But will this be enough to placate privacy advocates?â¦