Google Bows to Pressure, Agrees to Delete Info
The European Union’s top security official yesterday lauded Google’s decision to scale back how long it keeps personally identifiable data accumulated from its users as a step towards addressing privacy concerns.
The search giant has faced repeated complaints that it intrudes on people’s privacy in recent weeks, capped over the weekend when British surveillance watchdog Privacy International released a report ranking the company as the worst for invading privacy.
Google was accused of acquiring personal information, having the ability to track users through the Internet and storing data even after users had deleted their accounts.
In response the company said it was ready to curtail the time it stored user data to a year and a half, seeking to mollify an EU watchdog that has questioned its privacy policies.
That was the low end of an 18 to 24-month period it had originally proposed to regulators in March.
“I think it is indeed a good step,” EU Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini told a news conference in Luxembourg.
“It is good to see Google trying to meet our expectations,” he said.
The European Union data watchdog, made up of national data protection supervisors of the bloc’s 27 member states, said in May Google seemed to be failing to respect EU privacy rules and asked for clarification before its next meeting in mid-June.
It is an advisory body which is independent from the European Commission. A spokeswoman for the watchdog said last month it would not take a final decision on whether Google may be violating European privacy laws before October.
Each time a Google user searches the Internet, the company gathers information about that customer’s tastes, interests and beliefs that could potentially be used by third parties such as advertisers. Google shares general user statistics but is adamant it never shares personal data outside the company.
Agencies
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