September 14, 2007

Google Proposes Weak Global Privacy Standard

While Google is leading a charge to create a global privacy standard for how companies protect consumer data, the search giant is recommending that remedies focus on whether a person was actually harmed by having the information exposed. However, a privacy advocate dismissed the move as a desperate attempt by Google to appear to be sensitive to privacy issues in the midst of government scrutiny of its proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of online ad firm DoubleClick. Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, called the APEC Privacy Framework "backward looking" and said it "is the weakest international framework for privacy protection, far below what the Europeans require or what is allowed for transatlantic transfers between Europe and the U.S.," particularly because it focuses on the need to show harm to the consumer.

Google proposes global privacy standard, CNet News.com, September 13, 2007.