Google introduces privacy changes (cue the backlash)

On March 1, Google will roll out a new, streamlined privacy policy. And some critics are already up in arms. 

|
Reuters
Google is taking flak for a change to its privacy profile. Here, some loaner bikes at the Google campus in California.

On March 1, Google will introduce a new, streamlined terms of service and privacy policy, which takes approximately 60 separate policies for various Google products, and rolls them into a single "much more readable" document. The move comes as Google seeks to expand Search Plus Your World – an initiative that mixes Google+ posts and personal photos with more traditional search results. 

"The main change is for users with Google Accounts," Google's Alma Whitten wrote in a post on the company blog yesterday. "Our new Privacy Policy makes clear that, if you’re signed in, we may combine information you've provided from one service with information from other services. In short, we’ll treat you as a single user across all our products, which will mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience."

But as Cecilia Kang notes over at the Washington Post, the new policies have critics worried – not least because the new policies will not come with an opt-out provision. A user signing up for Gmail, might not know the "content of his or her messages could affect the experience on seemingly unrelated Web sites such as YouTube," Kang writes

And plenty of lawmakers agree. 

"The lack of opt-out means users cannot pick and choose which data they want integrated into their Google profiles," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, wrote this week in a blog post (hat tip to Politico). "Private email messages might contain any number of personal, embarrassing or otherwise damaging information, and Google's attempts to amplify and contextualize this information through targeted ads, maps suggestions or calendar reminders could have negative consequences for users."

Over at Computerworld, Barbara Krasnoff points out that the new policies will be of particular interest to owners of devices such as the Galaxy Nexus smart phone, "which is pretty much useless outside of the Google netverse." Galaxy Nexus owner with a strong objection to the recent changes instituted by Google? Well, you're in trouble. 

"I must admit, the idea of being completely unable to opt out of specific privacy issues has me very troubled," Krasnoff writes. "My immediate reaction is to read Google's policies, check out some of the more knowledgeable commentators on the subject, and if I find that I do agree with those privacy activists who believe that Google has stepped too far over the line, to join those hoping to pressure the company to alter its new policy." 

For more tech news, follow us on Twitter @venturenaut. And don’t forget to sign up for the weekly BizTech newsletter.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Google introduces privacy changes (cue the backlash)
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/Horizons/2012/0125/Google-introduces-privacy-changes-cue-the-backlash
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe