Google: Cool or Creepy? - Google’s Response
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So how has Google reacted to this tempest? By its own lights, Google isn’t evil, just misunderstood. Nichole Wong, the deputy general counsel who oversees privacy issues at Google, said of Privacy International’s release that “The allegations in the report misunderstood a number of our products. More importantly, when you look at the actual ranking, it misses the point on a lot of things we do very well.”
Additionally, Google bowed to the demands of European Union data protection officials recently by agreeing to keep users’ personal search data no longer than 18 months. Previously, Google might keep such data for as long as two years. In another concession to the European privacy regulations, Google may cut the expiration time on its cookies from 30 years to two years.
Google might also be getting proactive by choosing somewhat different battlefields. The company didn’t open a lobbying office in Washington until a couple of years ago; they now have a staff of 13 in temporary offices, six of whom are lobbyists. One of their stars is Alan Davidson, a Democrat who served as the associate director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, an advocacy group concerned with free speech and privacy issues.
By entering D.C., Google hopes to turn the politicians to its way of thinking on various issues, including privacy. But it has a long way to go; it won’t be getting a permanent office until October, and last year it only spent $1 million on lobbying, as compared to, for example, the more than $19 million spent by AT&T or the nearly $9 million spent by Microsoft.
What are we to make of all this? It looks more to me like Google is regrouping rather than retreating. There is a huge amount of money at stake when it comes to online advertising, and the kind of personal information that Google and DoubleClick collect can be used to make advertising even more targeted and personalized. One thing is certain: one way or another, the issue of privacy online is not going away.
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