In recent years the Internet has become a critical part of the way we live our lives. People are now doing a wide range of tasks including shopping, watching television, and chatting with friends and family on the web. In an age where everything is done online and is recordable, one of the constant issues is privacy preservation. The amount of data stored, as well as the way it is stored, is constantly discussed by industry insiders as well as critics. On January 24th the web juggernaut Google announced a massive overhaul to their privacy policies for most of their services. Instead of having a different policy for each service, Google has created one policy that will serve all of its services and go into effect March 1st. Those interested in reading the new Policy should check out the link at the end of this post.
In response to the announcement, several Lawmakers around the world have called on Google to delay the implementation of the new policy so that it can be further studied. Despite the challenges raised by the chair of the European Union’s Data Protection Working Party, Google has announced that it plans to move forward with its plan. Personally, I have no issue with the proposed plan and think that simplifying the policies will make it clearer to users what is actually being done with their data. Even if a policy is overreaching initially it can be easily changed and likely will be if there is sufficient public backlash. Googles goal of making policies clearer is a step in the right direction.
Sources
Google’s New Privacy Policy: http://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/
Wall Street Journal Article: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120203-712502.html
Further Reading
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/updating-our-privacy-policies-and-terms.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57373694-83/group-sues-ftc-over-googles-planned-privacy-update/
In response to the announcement, several Lawmakers around the world have called on Google to delay the implementation of the new policy so that it can be further studied. Despite the challenges raised by the chair of the European Union’s Data Protection Working Party, Google has announced that it plans to move forward with its plan. Personally, I have no issue with the proposed plan and think that simplifying the policies will make it clearer to users what is actually being done with their data. Even if a policy is overreaching initially it can be easily changed and likely will be if there is sufficient public backlash. Googles goal of making policies clearer is a step in the right direction.
Sources
Google’s New Privacy Policy: http://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/
Wall Street Journal Article: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120203-712502.html
Further Reading
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/updating-our-privacy-policies-and-terms.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57373694-83/group-sues-ftc-over-googles-planned-privacy-update/
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