Davey Winder
Saturday, 05 July 2008 17:29
Business IT -
Networking
Page 2 of 3
Meanwhile, in an ironic twist, the
New York Times reports that Google has added the word 'privacy' to it's home page. This follows an appeal to Google CEO Eric Schmidt in the form
of a letter
signed by the likes of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, World Privacy
Forum, Consumer Action, Electronic Frontier Foundation, ACLU of
Northern California and Consumer Federation of California.
"We are writing to you on behalf of California
consumers and Internet users around the world to urge Google to include
a direct link to its privacy policy on its homepage" the letter said,
concluding "Google's reluctance to post a link to its privacy policy on
its homepage is alarming. We urge you to comply with the California
Online Privacy Protection Act and the widespread practice for
commercial web sites as soon as possible."
The Google response was, before the Viacom ruling, that it does not
need to make the privacy link any easier to find than clicking the
'About' link and then following the 'Privacy Policy' one. Indeed, a
Google spokeswoman
said just that and insisted there were no plans to change the privacy link positioning.
A Google spokesman told the New York Times that the change had been
made because "Some users, bloggers, and regulatory bodies have asked us
why we didn’t have a link." Maybe, in light of the Viacom ruling, it
could have just said "you have no privacy, get over it."
What it does say, when you click through to the policy pages, amongst
other things is that "Google's servers automatically record information
when you visit our website or use some of our products, including the
URL, IP address, browser type and language, and the date and time of
your request" and "We may also share information with third parties in
limited circumstances, including when complying with legal process,
preventing fraud or imminent harm, and ensuring the security of our
network and services."
Which is much the same thing...
Is Google painting itself into a corner, and what does Privacy
International have to say about it all? Find out on the final page...
CONTINUED
LATEST HEADLINES FROM YOUR IT
