The newly consolidated Google privacy policy is set to take effect March 1, 2012, but not without skepticism from several well-respected critics. The European Union has asked the Internet giant to put the policy on hold, while 36 U.S. attorneys general have banded together to raise concerns about the changes. This is only a few weeks after the platform was accused of bypassing security settings in Internet Explorer and Safari. All this fanfare may leave you wondering what to expect from this much debated change in guidelines.
The Policy
The new policy attempts to streamline the user experience by sharing users' data across applications like You Tube, Gmail, and Google +. According to the official Google privacy policy, this data includes the following:
- Personal information
- Device information (hardware model, operating system, etc.)
- Cookies
- Search queries
- Telephone information
According to The Washington Post, the company has no plans to share any of this information outside of Google applications. They also state that users can avoid having data shared between application by logging off from one service before logging into another.
So what's all the fuss about? The attorney generals and internet advocacy groups alike are upset with the fact that the new policy backs users into a corner, while potentially making money off them through ad revenue. Tracking and combining users' search engine queries and location information can target the ads that pop up in their browsers, potentially leading to more clicks, which in turn leads to more ad money for Google.
In a letter to Google CEO Larry Page, the attorneys general express their concern over what these new guidelines will cost businesses that don't feel comfortable with the new policy. Completely avoiding information sharing could mean ditching Google altogether and moving to a new platform. The switch involves retraining employees on new applications and changing over business Gmail accounts to other servers. A transition like that could potentially be costly.
The letter also brings up concern for Android smartphone users. Those who choose to opt out of the policy stand to render their phone useless and may have to buy a new one.
What This Means for Businesses
According to a statement on InfoWorld.com from Google, the company promises that, "As always, Google will maintain our enterprise customers' data in compliance with the confidentiality and security obligations provided to their domain. The new privacy policy does not change our contractual agreements, which have always superseded Google's privacy policy for enterprise customers."
Though the new Google privacy policy won't share users' data between their business and personal Gmail accounts, it is wise for businesses to check the policy they do have in place with Google to ensure that they won't be affected by the new guidelines. This is a moment in time when reading the fine print is a must.
Unfortunately, smaller companies with employees who use their Gmail accounts for both personal and business may want to consider requiring them to create separate accounts to avoid the privacy policy from affecting their enterprise. If they don't employ separate accounts before the rollout, clearing out their browsing history and turning off Google Web History will keep them from cross-sharing browsing information within Google applications.
That said, who knows how long this new policy will stay intact? Privacy advocacy groups recently filed a suit with the Federal Trade Commission in regards to the new policy, and the Obama administration has also put the platform on notice under their voluntary "consumer bill of rights." It will be interesting to see how long before amendments to these dubious new guidelines are asked to be made.
Courtesy: InfoBoom
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