{"id":535273,"date":"2010-04-20T09:44:15","date_gmt":"2010-04-20T13:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=114294"},"modified":"2010-04-20T09:44:15","modified_gmt":"2010-04-20T13:44:15","slug":"google-slammed-by-privacy-authorities-over-buzz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/535273","title":{"rendered":"Google Slammed by Privacy Authorities Over Buzz"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Privacy authorities from 10 countries this morning released a joint letter at a conference in Washington, D.C., that takes Google to task over the way it released its social tool, Google Buzz, saying the launch “betrayed a disappointing disregard for fundamental privacy norms and laws.” The group also said that the privacy problems associated with the new service, which went live in February, should have been “readily apparent” and that it isn’t the first time the company has “failed to take adequate account of privacy considerations when launching new services.” The letter noted that Google’s Street View service has also been the subject of privacy-related complaints from multiple countries.<\/p>\n

In an emailed response, a Google spokesperson said: “We try very hard to be upfront about the data we collect, and how we use it, as well as to build meaningful controls into our products. Of course we do not get everything 100% right — that is why we acted so quickly on Buzz following the user feedback we received. We have discussed all these issues publicly many times before and have nothing to add to today’s letter.”<\/p>\n

The letter — the full text of which is below — was signed by the heads of data protection authorities in Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom. The group is scheduled to hold a press conference later today in Washington about the statement, which called on Google “like all organizations entrusted with people’s personal information, to incorporate fundamental privacy principles directly into the design of new online services.” The fundamental problem with Buzz is described this way:<\/p>\n

Google Mail, or Gmail, had been a private, one-to-one web-based e-mail service, but was abruptly melded with a new social networking service. Google automatically assigned users a network of “followers” from among people with whom they corresponded most often on Gmail, without adequately informing those users about how this new service would work or providing sufficient information to permit informed consent. These actions violated the fundamental, globally accepted privacy principle that people should be able to control the use of their personal information.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This joint effort by multiple countries is only the latest in a series of attacks Google has faced over Buzz. Not long after the new service was launched in February, the Electronic Privacy Information Center asked the FTC<\/a> to open an investigation into privacy concerns surrounding Buzz, and that was followed in March by a similar request from a bipartisan group<\/a> of lawmakers from the House of Representatives. Although Google CEO Eric Schmidt has said that<\/a> “no one was harmed” by Buzz, project manager Todd Jackson later apologized for the way the product was launched, and the company has made a number of alterations to the way it functions, including a new confirmation screen for users so they can confirm what they wish to share and with whom<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Privacy concerns have also dogged Google in Europe, where Street View has come under fire from European Union regulators<\/a> as well as privacy authorities in a number of countries such as Germany. Some authorities want the company to provide better notice to citizens of when the Street View car will be filming them, as well as a way for individuals to have themselves removed from the snapshots after they’re taken. Google has also faced serious repercussions in Italy, where three senior Google executives were found guilty in February of breaching Italian privacy regulations<\/a> as a result of a video that was uploaded to YouTube.<\/p>\n

The privacy regulators who released the letter today were meeting in Washington for the annual global summit of the International Association of Privacy Professionals. The full text of the letter follows:<\/p>\n

\n

April 19, 2010<\/p>\n

Mr. Eric Schmidt\u2028 Chairman of the Board and\u2028 Chief Executive Officer\u2028 Google Inc. \u2028Mountain View, CA \u2028USA 94043<\/p>\n

Dear Mr. Schmidt:<\/p>\n

Google is an innovative company that has changed how people around the world use the Internet. We recognize your company\u2019s many accomplishments and its dramatic impact on our information economy. As data protection regulators mandated to protect privacy rights, we also applaud your participation in discussions in many jurisdictions about new approaches to data protection.<\/p>\n

However, we are increasingly concerned that, too often, the privacy rights of the world\u2019s citizens are being forgotten as Google rolls out new technological applications. We were disturbed by your recent rollout of the Google Buzz social networking application, which betrayed a disappointing disregard for fundamental privacy norms and laws. Moreover, this was not the first time you have failed to take adequate account of privacy considerations when launching new services.<\/p>\n

The privacy problems associated with your initial global rollout of Google Buzz on February 9, 2010 were serious and ought to have been readily apparent to you.<\/p>\n

In essence, you took Google Mail (Gmail), a private, one-to-one web-based e-mail service, and converted it into a social networking service, raising concern among users that their personal information was being disclosed. Google automatically assigned users a network of \u201cfollowers\u201d from among people with whom they corresponded most often on Gmail, without adequately informing Gmail users about how this new service would work or providing sufficient information to permit informed consent decisions. This violated the fundamental principle that individuals should be able to control the use of their personal information.<\/p>\n

Users instantly recognized the threat to their privacy and the security of their personal information, and were understandably outraged. To your credit, Google apologized and moved quickly to stem the damage.<\/p>\n

While your company addressed the most privacy-intrusive aspects of Google Buzz in the wake of this public protest and most recently (April 5, 2010) you asked all users to reconfirm their privacy settings, we remain extremely concerned about how a product with such significant privacy issues was launched in the first place. We would have expected a company of your stature to set a better example. Launching a product in \u201cbeta\u201d form is not a substitute for ensuring that new services comply with fair information principles before they are introduced.<\/p>\n

It is unacceptable to roll out a product that unilaterally renders personal information public, with the intention of repairing problems later as they arise. Privacy cannot be sidelined in the rush to introduce new technologies to online audiences around the world.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Google Buzz is not an isolated case. Google Street View was launched in some countries without due consideration of privacy and data protection laws and cultural norms. In that instance, you addressed privacy concerns related to such matters as the retention of unblurred facial images only after the fact, and there is continued concern about the adequacy of the information you provide before the images are captured.<\/p>\n

We recognize that Google is not the only online company with a history of introducing services without due regard for the privacy of its users. As a leader in the online world, we hope that your company will set an example for others to follow.<\/p>\n

We therefore call on you, like all organisations entrusted with people\u2019s personal information, to incorporate fundamental privacy principles directly into the design of new online services. That means, at a minimum:<\/p>\n

\u2022 collecting and processing only the minimum amount of personal information necessary to achieve the identified purpose of the product or service;<\/p>\n

\u2022 providing clear and unambiguous information about how personal information will be used to allow users to provide informed consent;<\/p>\n

\u2022 creating privacy-protective default settings;<\/p>\n

\u2022 ensuring that privacy control settings are prominent and easy to use;<\/p>\n

\u2022 ensuring that all personal data is adequately protected, and<\/p>\n

\u2022 giving people simple procedures for deleting their accounts and honouring their requests in a timely way.<\/p>\n

In addition to respecting these broad principles, we also expect all organisations to comply with relevant data protection and privacy laws. These laws apply online, just as they do in the physical world. As well, we encourage organisations to engage with data protection authorities when developing services with significant implications for privacy.<\/p>\n

As your users made clear to you in the hours and days after the launch of Google Buzz, privacy is a fundamental right that people value deeply.<\/p>\n

As regulators responsible for promoting and overseeing compliance with data protection and privacy laws, we hope that you will learn from this experience as you design and develop new products and services.<\/p>\n

We would like to receive a response indicating how Google will ensure that privacy and data protection requirements are met before the launch of future products.<\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

Original signed by
\nJennifer Stoddart Privacy Commissioner of Canada<\/p>\n

Original signed by
\nAlex T\u00fcrk\u2028 Chairman, Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libert\u00e9s (France)<\/p>\n

Original signed by
\nPeter Schaar\u2028 Commissioner, Bundesbeauftragte f\u00fcr den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit (Germany)<\/p>\n

Original signed by
\nBilly Hawkes \u2028Data Protection Commissioner of Ireland<\/p>\n

Original signed by
\nYoram Hacohen \u2028Head of the Israeli Law, Information and Technology Authority<\/p>\n

Original signed by
\nFrancesco Pizzetti\u2028 Garante per la protezione dei dati personali (Italy)<\/p>\n

Original signed by
\nJacob Kohnstamm\u2028 Chairman, College Bescherming Persoonsgegevens (Netherlands)\u2028Chairman, Article 29 Working Party<\/p>\n

Original signed by
\nMarie Shroff \u2028Privacy Commissioner, New Zealand<\/p>\n

Original signed by
\nArtemi Rallo Lombarte\u2028 Director, Agencia Espa\u00f1ola de Protecci\u00f3n de Datos (Spain)<\/p>\n

Original signed by
\nChristopher Graham\u2028 Information Commissioner and Chief Executive (United Kingdom)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why New Net Companies Must Shoulder More Responsibility<\/a><\/p>\n

Post and thumbnail photos courtesy<\/a> of Flickr user Blyzz<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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\n<\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Privacy authorities from 10 countries this morning released a joint letter at a conference in Washington, D.C., that takes Google to task over the way it released its social tool, Google Buzz, saying the launch “betrayed a disappointing disregard for fundamental privacy norms and laws.” The group also said that the privacy problems associated with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2260,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-535273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2260"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535273\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}