Google Defends Privacy Practices
May 10, 2010
| 10:59 AM
Google responded to concerns raised by privacy ministers from 10 countries, saying the Internet firm has tried to be transparent and give users control over how their information is used.
Last month, privacy commissioners from Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom wrote Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt voicing concern that Google has failed to adequately ensure privacy in the rollout of its new products. They cited Google's launch of its social networking service Buzz as the most prominent example but also voiced concerns with Google Street View, which gives a panoramic, street-level view of various locations around the world.
In a letter Friday to the privacy commissioners, Jane Horvath and Peter Fleischer, both of whom serve as Google privacy counsel, argued that Google abides by five privacy principles: use information to provide valuable products to consumers; develop products that reflect strong privacy standards and practices; be transparent in how data is collected; give users choices about their privacy; and protect user data.
They also pointed to tools Google offers users such as its privacy center and Google Dashboard, which allows users to control data stored in their Google accounts.
"Google is committed to ensuring that privacy is designed into our products at every stage of the development cycle," Horvath and Fleischer wrote. "Respecting privacy is a part of every Googler's job."
In responding to the concerns about Google Buzz, they again acknowledged that Google "did not get everything 100 percent right." They added that Google worked fast to respond to user feedback, a point they said many of the privacy commissioners have acknowledged.
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