“Don’t be evil.” That’s Google’s motto. It seems so simple, yet recent changes to Google’s privacy policy have caused some to question how trustworthy Google — and all of its related sites — actually are.
Beginning March 1, Google is planning to condense all of their individual privacy policies that govern sites like YouTube, Picasa, Google Latitude, Google Earth and Blogger to name only a few, into one simpler policy, essentially making the cross-platform data tracking (that already exists) more apparent.
And Google has made sure to promote this change as a benefit to the user.
“In short, we’ll treat you as a single user across all our products, which will mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience,” wrote Alma Whitten, director of privacy, product and engineering at Google, in the initial post introducing the policy changes, according to searchenginewatch.com.
But what does that actually mean?
Essentially, the information a user gives one site –– videos viewed, advertisements clicked on, people contacted, etc. –– will be shared with all other Google platforms so that information won’t need to be re-entered or recalculated when a user switches from one site to another. Technically speaking, it is a very literal form of transparency.
In an email sent out by Google this weekend, the changes were spelled out in relatively user-friendly terms and it appears that Google’s ultimate goal is to tailor the “Google experience” to each individual user.
“If you’re signed into Google, we can do things like suggest search queries or tailor your search results based on the interests you’ve expressed in Google+, Gmail, and YouTube. We’ll better understand which version of Pink or Jaguar you’re searching for and get you those results faster,” the email said.
That seems convenient, but there is more.
“When you post or create a document online, you often want others to see and contribute. By remembering the contact information of the people you want to share with, we make it easy for you to share in any Google product or service with minimal clicks and errors.”
This too, in “user lingo,” seems helpful. After all, the less we have to remember beyond daily to-do lists and work or school obligations, the better. Right? Maybe not.
What does the word “often” mean? Do we really want our peers to be “often” able to see everything we are doing? Is it possible to tell Google not to remember what we’ve shared or with whom the information has been shared? If Google “remembers” all of this information once, is it safe to assume it’s never going to forget it?
These questions, among others, are ones concerned Google users have asked out of fear that their privacy will be all but non-existent when the new privacy policy takes effect, and there are numerous privacy watchdogs and legislators that express the same concern.
Eight members of the House of Representatives, including Joe Barton (R-Texas), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) and Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), wrote a letter condemning the proposal and all have sponsored privacy bills, according to searchenginewatch.com.
What was Google’s response?
“We believe that consumers should have the ability to opt-out of data collection when they are not comfortable with a company’s terms of service and that the ability to exercise that choice should be simple and straightforward,” Google’s post, which introduced the policy outlines, stated.
Google spokespersons have also stressed the idea that Google is not collecting any more information than it already did, it is simply just sharing it across Google platforms.
“If you are logged in, you can still edit or turn off your Search history, switch Gmail chat to ‘off the record,’ control the way Google tailors ads to your interests, use Incognito mode on Chrome, or use any of the other privacy tools we offer,” the post continued.
Google argues that information has been shared across different platforms for some time now and that this new privacy policy simply allowing information to be shared more widely should not be a surprise nor a concern.
Whether Google is pushing the boundaries of it’s “Don’t be evil” motto is somewhat irrelevant, and this entire debate boils down to one simple thing. Users need to take individual responsibility for what they do on and share with the Internet.