Could Google-DoubleClick Merger be Halted? - Google's Case and Other Concerns
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To its credit, Google is working on ways to protect consumer privacy online. Drummond cited one new technology in the works called "crumbled cookie." This technology would not connect information about a web surfer to a single piece of identifying code (the previously-mentioned "cookies" that Google was once reluctant to use).
Drummond said his company was also exploring other ways to address privacy concerns. "We have consulted with numerous privacy, consumer and industry groups in developing these ideas and have endeavored to be responsive to their concerns," he said at the hearing. The company may still not be sensitive enough -- though one can barely fault it for not thinking through all the fiendish possibilities of its technologies.
For example, Google recently created something called Google Gadgets, which are mini-applications that do useful or entertaining things for the user. It has opened up the API to developers so they can create their own gadgets for others to use. Here's the problem: some of the gadgets in Google's gadget directory ask for Google account usernames and passwords. Since the gadgets are part of a Google directory, users may not realize that this information is going to a third party and not Google. It's a situation ripe for a phishing scam. If Google isn't more careful about what is appearing on its own site, how can we expect it to be careful enough with the treasure trove of personal information it will have access to after merging with DoubleClick?
Here's another area that's ripe for privacy violation: Google Gadget Ads. These are portable applications that let advertisers customize their look and feel. One that promoted Paramount Pictures "A Brave Heart," which was based on a true story, let users view a trailer and (among other things) relive the 18 months surrounding a key event in the movie via a clickable timeline. But these ads may have a dark side. Cory Treffiletti, writing for Media Post Publications, warned that they could all too easily be turned into spyware by less-than-ethical marketers. Spyware is not just a nuisance, it's an invasion of privacy.
If Google's purchase of DoubleClick is to go through without making a lot more people unhappy, it needs to show that it is more capable of thinking through the privacy ramifications of its actions, and more responsible about what it brings to open beta. In short, Google needs to prove that it is worthy of our trust now, and will continue to be worthy of our trust after the purchase of DoubleClick is complete.
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