Google Privacy Controls Come Under Fire

A British privacy watchdog is the latest to call for an improvement in Google privacy controls .

Joining senior government officials from nine other countries, the UK’s information commissioner Christopher Graham has signed a letter urging Google to make changes, in order to protect its users.

The letter outlines six areas where Google privacy controls could be improved, including how much data is collected about users , clarity on how that information will be used, and making it easy for users to delete their accounts or protect their information. Addressed to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, the letter makes claims that as Google introduces more features , increasing concerns over privacy were being ignored.

This letter comes at a time when Google privacy controls are meeting criticism fairly frequently. The most recent controversies include Google Buzz, which automatically connected users via their Gmail account and the Google Street View project, which has captured images of people out in public and then put them online. Though Google Buzz security was updated and Google has announced that it may cancel the Street View project, the letter states that such measures are not sufficient:

“It is unacceptable to roll out a product that unilaterally renders personal information public, with the intention of repairing problems later as they arise.”

Controversy over Google privacy controls has always been a potential time bomb, as the search giant’s mission – “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful” would inevitably come up against numerous issues and accusations of this kind. While few would deny that Google has done a lot of good and will no doubt continue to do so in the future, is it possible that Google is taking its mission statement a little too literally?

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