From: RobertB 

Yeah, I'm beginning to have my doubts about Google. Looks like they're not
quite as benign as everyone assumed.


In article ,
 "Rich Gauszka"  wrote:

> --London-based Privacy International assigned Google its lowest possible
> grade. The category is reserved for companies with "comprehensive consumer
> surveillance and entrenched hostility to privacy."
>
> http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070609/D8PLHML80.html
>
> SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Google Inc.'s privacy practices are the worst among the
> Internet's top destinations, according to a watchdog group seeking to
> intensify the recent focus on how the online search leader handles personal
> information about its users.
>
> In a report released Saturday, London-based Privacy International assigned
> Google its lowest possible grade. The category is reserved for companies
> with "comprehensive consumer surveillance and entrenched hostility to
> privacy."
>
> None of the 22 other surveyed companies - a group that included Yahoo Inc. ,
> Microsoft Corp. and AOL - sunk to that level, according to Privacy
> International.
>
> While a number of other Internet companies have troubling policies, none
> comes as close to Google to "achieving status as an endemic threat to
> privacy," Privacy International said in an explanation of its findings.
>
> In a statement from one of its lawyers, Google said it aggressively protects
> its users' privacy and stands behind its track record. In its most
> conspicuous defense of user privacy, Google last year successfully fought a
> U.S. Justice Department subpoena demanding to review millions of search
> requests.
>
> "We are disappointed with Privacy International's report, which is based on
> numerous inaccuracies and misunderstandings about our services,"
said Nicole
> Wong, Google's deputy general counsel.
>
> "It's a shame that Privacy International decided to publish its report
> before we had an opportunity to discuss our privacy practices with them."
>
> Privacy International contacted Google earlier this month, but didn't
> receive a response, said Simon Davies, the group's director.
>
> The scathing report is just the latest strike aimed at Google's privacy
> practices.
>
> An independent European panel recently opened an inquiry into whether
> Google's policies abide by Europe's privacy rules.
>
> Meanwhile, three consumer groups in the United States are pressuring the
> nation's regulators to make Google change some of its privacy policies as
> part of its proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of online ad service
> DoubleClick Inc., which also tracks Web surfers' behavior.
>
> The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is looking into antitrust concerns raised
> by the DoubleClick deal, but has not indicated if privacy issues will be
> part of the inquiry.
>
> Hoping to placate its critics, Google has pledged to begin erasing the
> information about users' search requests within 18 to 24 months.
>
> The company says its stockpiles data to help its search engine better
> understand its users so it can deliver more relevant results and
> advertisements.
>
> As Google becomes more knowledgeable about the people relying on its search
> engine and other free services, management hopes to develop more tools that
> recommend activities and other pursuits that might appeal to individual
> users.
>
> Privacy International is particularly troubled by Google's ability to match
> data gathered by its search engine with information collected from other
> services such as e-mail, instant messaging and maps.
>
> "Under the microscope, it turns out that Google is doing much more with our
> data than we ever imagined," Davies said.
>
> Founded in 1990, Privacy International said it reached its preliminary
> findings after spending the past six months reviewing Internet privacy
> practices with the help of about 30 professors, mostly in the United States
> and United Kingdom. The group plans to update the report in September.
>
> Seven of the Internet companies and Web sites included in Privacy
> International's analysis received the second lowest grade of "substantial
> and comprehensive privacy threats." This group included: Time Warner Inc.'s
> AOL, Apple Inc. ,Facebook.com, Hi5.com, Reunion.com, Microsoft's Windows
> Live Space and Yahoo.
>
> None of the companies or sites received Privacy International's top grade,
> but five rated as "generally privacy-aware." They were: BBC, eBay Inc.
> Last.fm, LiveJournal.com, and Wikipedia.com.

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