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    • February 29th, 2012 10:43 AM

    Google Doesn’t Startle by the Raised Eyebrows of AG

    Several of the state attorney generals have continued to criticize Google for the changes to its privacy policy but Google continues to be unfazed by it. There have been a total of 36 states that have had numerous attorneys general to write Google to complain about the changes.

    The new privacy policy that Google has implemented allows more information to be shared among its products which should allow consumers to choose to opt in. However, it does not have an opt-in mechanism and Google has failed to provide an opt-out option for those who are not comfortable with participating. This policy is currently to go in to effect on March 1st and the attorneys general is fighting to stop it.

    The harshly written letter calls the policy outrageous and holds Google responsible for attempting to invade the consumer’s privacy by automatically choosing to share their information. It seems almost impossible to claim that users have the ability to not use Google products when its known for a fact that nearly all users on the Internet use at least one product on a normal basis for either work, school or entertainment purposes.

    As the deadline of March 1st draws near Google shows no indication that they plan to change their mind about the new privacy policy. They have posted that the new privacy policy will make it easier to understand to benefit from the signed in users. A rep for Google went on to say that they have taken on the most extensive efforts possible in order to continue to offer control and choice over how users choose to use their products.

    It looks as though the letters and disagreement from the attorneys general will have little effect on the outcome of Google’s updated privacy policy that will indeed go into effect on March 1st. The only time Google really makes specific changes against their own wishes is when they are forced to do so by a government agency such as the FTC (Federal Trade Commission).

    Google seems to think there is no need for changes based on the letters from the attorney generals says Ryan Radia, who works with the Competitive Enterprise Institute as an analyst. While many think that the letters from the AG should sway the mind of this Internet giant but in reality they are only words which Google may read but would never choose to make a final decision based on what they think. The fact that the attorneys general failed to raise any real issues that would require concern to privacy advocates, including the reports that they circumvents a mechanism into the Safari browser in order to help disable tracking. This makes it seem as though they were really unsure about what the real concerns should be.

    While everyone is allowed to have their own opinion the situation has been overdone when it comes to the privacy policy changes that Google tends to make. They will not be collecting any new information under the change and they have attempted to educate their consumers about the new changes that are being implemented.

    One thing that may concern Google is the president’s current proposed online consumer bill of rights. If this law goes into effect it could have serious impacts on Facebook and Google by changing their entire business model. A legal risk that Google may also face is the online privacy legislation which is currently being considered in the European Union.

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