Telstra has revealed the addition of almost one million new mobile services in the six months to December 2011, but Sensis revenues plummeted 24 percent in 12 months.
The EU's data privacy watchdog has launched an investigation into the personal data retention policies of Google, querying whether the search leader is breaking privacy laws. In its defence, Google has fired back a salvo defending its policies and asking whether the other main search players Yahoo and Microsoft are being similarly scrutinized.
On that last point, Google is justified in asking
the question. However, when you're the 880 pound (400kg in the EU)
gorilla of search, you've got to expect to be first cab off the rank in
any such probe. The EU has the most restrictive laws concerning its
citizens' privacy in the world and the Article 29 Working Group is
quite justified in asking Google to explain the reasons why it retains
data, how the data is protected and exactly how that data is used.
In fact, the public who perform searches on Google have a right to know as well.
So far, all we know is that every time you perform a search, Google
records your IP address, your search query, and details of the cookies
stored on your hard drive. What's more Google claims that for its
"security" it needs to hold on to this data for two years.
No doubt the EU and a large number of private citizens will be
interested to know why not only their IP addresses but Google needs or
even has the right to retain the often sensitive information contained
in tracking cookies placed on their hard drives by websites they have
visited. How will that help Google protect itself from hack attacks?
Google also claims that retaining such data enables it to prevent abuse
of its advertising system. Having a record of IP addresses clicking ads
makes sense in such instances but is it necessary to retain that data
for two years? And why the need to retain cookies? One can see how
having a record cookies could benefit Google commercially but it's hard
to see how this can be related to security.
Like it or not, these are questions that Google needs to answer and the EU is absolutely correct to ask them.
David Bass
| For the fourth year in a row, IDC has placed content security provider Websense (NASDAQ: WBSN) at the top of the IDC Worldwide Web Security 2011 –…
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