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Google's Data Policy Criticized

Information Management Journal, Jul/Aug 2007 by Swartz, Nikki

Three public-interest groups have filed a joint complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), asking it to investigate the potential threat to consumer privacy posed by Google's planned acquisition of DoubleClick, the country's largest ad technology provider.

According to media reports, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the Center for Digital Democracy, and the U.S. Public Interest Research Groups, asked the FTC to delay the merger until it investigates Google's data collection and storage practices. The joint complaint demands that Google obtain user permission before collecting data about them and enable users to view the collected information and delete it if they choose.

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According to the complaint, "Google's proposed acquisition of DoubleClick will give one company access to more information about the Internet activities of consumers than any other company in the world. Moreover, Google will operate with virtually no legal obligation to ensure the privacy, security, and accuracy of the personal data that it collects."

The complaint also contends that the merger threatens the privacy interests of 233 million Internet users in North America, 314 million Internet users in Europe, and more than 1.1 billion Internet users worldwide.

Since Google announced plans to buy DoubleClick for $3.1 billion in April, privacy advocates have stated their concerns over the vast amount of data Google would hold if the deal goes through. In late May, the FTC launched an antitrust investigation into the planned deal.

Google, the largest search engine in the United States, received more than 3 billion search queries in March alone, and it regularly stores that data. By acquiring DoubleClick - whose ads reach 80 to 85 percent of web users -Google would have access to a vast database of users' surfing habits spanning hundreds of sites.

Privacy advocates are particularly worried that Google will merge the data from search queries with DoubleClick's records of general web-surfing habits in order to build a centralized database of user profiles. Google officials said that, for now, the company has no plans to merge personally identifiable information with records of search histories and websurfing habits.

Another fear is that an IP address -the string of numbers that identifies each individual computer connected to the Internet - can be linked to an individual, even if a name or address isn't associated with the IP number. Last year, AOL published the search records of 658,000 of its American users. Although the search histories were linked only to numbers, The New York Times was able to match some to individuals.

The complaint also calls for Google to create a "meaningful data destruction policy" and that it be held to privacy standards from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international body of 33 countries whose guidelines limit the collection of personal data and give individuals the right "to access, amend, complete or erase information, as appropriate."

In addition, a European Union (EU) advisory group has asked Google to justify its data retention practices. The International Herald Tribute reported that EU privacy experts are concerned that the web search giant stores information on users' web searches for too long.

Google keeps logs of all searches, along with digital identifiers linking them to specific computers and Internet browsers. It recently announced that it would begin making those logs anonymous after 18 to 24 months, reducing the ability to connect search records to a person, and deleting them completely after two years. Before, the company kept the logs intact indefinitely.

The EU's Article 29 Data Protection Working Party, which enforces its data protection rules and advises European lawmakers on privacy issues, sent a letter to Google informing the company that its policies fall short of EU data protection standards. Google reaches 75 percent of the European search market, according to a DoubleClick research report.

Separately, the Norwegian Data Inspectorate began investigating Google's storage system of personal Internet addresses in January following concerns the practice breaches national privacy laws in Norway.

Google's Data Policy Criticized

Information Management Journal, Jul/Aug 2007 by Swartz, Nikki

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