Consumers back privacy law action against Google

Almost three quarters (71%) of Britons believe that data protection authorities were right to investigate Google’s privacy policies according to a new study by privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch. 66% of respondents went further than this, saying that national regulators such as the Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK should be doing more to force Google to comply with existing European directives on privacy. More generally, the poll indicates that 68% of respondents are concerned about online privacy with nearly a quarter “very concerned.”

The survey, which polled 2,050 British adults online, comes following a response deadline in the investigation by French watchdog the CNIL into Google’s decision to pool user data from all its services, including YouTube and Gmail. CNIL announced last week that Google had failed to provide “any precise and effective answers” as to how it will bring its policy into line with EU law.

In a much-noted response to this news, a Google spokesman last week replied: “Our privacy policy respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services. We have engaged fully with the CNIL throughout this process, and we’ll continue to do so going forward.”

Big Brother Watch director Nick Pickles said: ‘The message from consumers is clear – regulators were right to investigate Google’s new privacy policy and now they need to do more to force the company to comply with the law. Online privacy is an important issue for a significant number of people and not enough is being done to address these fears.’

ICOMP has repeatedly emphasised the need for online services that give users the necessary trust by offering services that respect people’s privacy.  For Google to say that our privacy must be the cost of innovation is cynical and misleading. True innovation is fostered by a healthy and competitive online marketplace that takes user’s needs seriously, not by one that invades their privacy for monetary gains by a single monopolistic company. Google has consistently ignored this. Now is the time for the EU’s data protection authorities to take things in hand.