Slashdot Mirror
Google Changes Privacy Policy
jemecki writes "Yahoo reports that Google has updated their privacy policy on user data collection. The new policy now explicitly states that 'Google may use personal information to display customized content and advertising, develop new services and ensure that its network continues to function.' It also adds that employees who violate the policy will be fired and prosecuted. They have also added a Cliffs Notes version of their privacy policy for those who don't want to RTFPP."
What is RTFPP?
I don't leave my house without my tinfoiled hat firmly in place, but I could care less about privacy policies. Especially those that require my signature. I will probably stop signing those, but I haven't felt like getting into it with the person who cannot see past the point that there is no point in agreeing or signing a "policy" that clearly says "I can change the rules at any time without notifying you".
Signing something like that is ignorant in my opinion because signing something implies agreement, and agreeing to an openended and potentially radically different terms doesn't seem much like an agreement to me.
I think that all of us should get together with a lawyer and create our own privacy statement and ask others to sign it, and not the other way around.
Ok, so target ads are good (IMO relevance is fairly important) but personally, I feel this is a breach of our rights. But having said that, what personal information have you actually sent to Google (searching habits excluded)?
They have a version of their privacy policy written in plain english?
Isn't that against federal law or something?
What if Google decided to abandon the concept of privacy altogether? The stock price would double, right? With that much information on their hands, it must be darn tempting.
everything about us is on google anyway now they can basicly just show more ads to us, I do like the cliff notes
Linux is like living in a teepee. No Windows, no Gates, Apache in house.
I think Google is simply making their privacy policy a bit more clear. It has been known for years that, at the very least, they log the IP address and search string for every request that hits their servers.
It might be fun to have a "what has this IP adress searched for?" feature to sift thru the google logs. Then again, it might uncover some scary stuff.
Isn't this basically what they were doing anyway? Using gathered data to better target ads? I mean they're walking the fine line now between good and evil. But I prefer honesty and that's what they're giving us in the terms. Now let's sit and watch to see if they "lose" our data like other notable companies have in the past.
I don't get it.
"Ensure that its network continues to function." So if you ever stop using Google, you are putting its survival at risk... so they will hunt you down!
When I subscribed to the Wall Street Journal and became inundated with investment-related spam almost immediately. I suppose I should learn to RTFPP.
Why is this a YRO article? When Yahoo or MSN changes their privacy policy, is it covered in Slashdot?
Google changes their privacy policy to reflect things that YOU SHOULD ALREADY KNOW.
They track your usage and produce advertisements based on your usage. Duh. That's their whole business model people-- Google is an Advertising business first, a search engine second.
Do you really think Google needs 5000 computers to serve a website? NO--- a signifigant number of those computers are for data crunching-- what are people viewing now, what advertisements should we show them? It's called "predictive marketing", it's a more advanced version of those stupid "Direct Marketing" advertisements you get in the mail.
94% of Repubs and 21% of Dems voted to renew the Patriot Act
personally i am not that afraid of google mail invading my privacy. They have my mails running thru a software that scans it for words in an advertising context... i think their software isn't more evil than any others mail providers virus and/or spam check. Software reading mail and deciding based on certain words/characteristics.. anyway, most of my mails are in german and so far i've only seen ads when i get english mails and the ads are rather obvious... no super-sneaky "free condoms" ad when a girl writes me about going out tonight and having a beer, rather something beer-related... people who feel scared by gmail should rather not use any free webmail service. on a related topic: germans can't get @gmail.com addresses any more, only @googlemail.com since google has ridiculous legal problems in germany with a guy who claims to have some service called gmail...
...but there's no such thing as a free lunch. This was to be expected, and I'm sure that sooner or later, Google will push the limits of privacy as other companies have. Their method, however, may be so slothfully and minutely incremental that few will notice.
I don't think it'd be a bad idea for some of these 'open user-friendly, "we're not going to use your information for anything bad"' companies/organisations to blog their changes openly, to both reassure their users that any changes arn't bad and to ensure everyone understand exactly what's happening.
;P
But maybe I'm just an idealist
I think therefore I am... a Linux geek.
"The new policy now explicitly states that 'Google may use personal information to display customized content and advertising, develop new services and ensure that its network continues to function.'"
Umm, so if Google is losing money hand-over-foot, it can use 'private' information in any way it chooses if necessary to ensure that its network continues to function? I know, nitpicking and alarmist, but that clause is very vague.
"It also adds that employees who violate the policy will be fired and prosecuted."
So, any employees who does not use my personal information will get fired and prosecuted?
Sheesh! Talk about a demanding workplace!
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
No kidding. They will use information collected about users to target advertising. That is the price you pay to use thier free email service, search service, desktop, etc. As long as they keep that private infomration within google, then fine. Looks like I will be RTFPP tonight.
"They have also added a Cliffs Notes version of their privacy policy for those who don't want to RTFPP."
CliffsNotes is a registered trademark of John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Please refer to the abbreviated version as an "Executive Summary" or just a "Summary."
**This message brought to you by the "Congresspeople for Unending Corporate Profits" committee.**
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
That's it, I'm uninstalling my Google toolbar in Firefox and deleting the never-ending cookie. Guess I'll start using the dewey decimal system on the internet to look anything up. The internet is indexed properly correct?
The cliff notes idea is nice to simplify things. However, what I would like to see is a in these kinds of things (EULAs, laws, privacy junk) is simplified (read plain english for normal people) summaries that explain "the spirit" in which they are intended.
.... back to work.
The idea being that we could avoid issues down the road when there is disagreement as to what was originally meant. No more nitpicking over exact wording and things like that. If there is a technicality being discusses then check it against "the spirit" of the agreement.
ok I was in a rush and I hope this made sense.
Keep the Classic Slashdot.
Is anyone else getting asked to accept a cookie originating from the site of the top result of a Google search before ever clicking on it?
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
First, Google Earth. Next, your online privacy! Who knows if they'll be spying on your house to see what kind of products you might want to buy!
*puts on tinfoil hat (purchased, btw, via google AdSense)*
In case you had a complaint and you didnt want to read the full thing...
Enforcement
Google regularly reviews its compliance with this Policy. Please feel free to direct any questions or concerns regarding this Policy or Google's treatment of personal information by contacting us through this web site or by writing to us at Privacy Matters, c/o Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California, 94043, USA. When we receive formal written complaints at this address, it is Google's policy to contact the complaining user regarding his or her concerns. We will cooperate with the appropriate regulatory authorities, including local data protection authorities, to resolve any complaints regarding the transfer of personal data that cannot be resolved between Google and an individual.
Now, back to reality....
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
...then don't use their service! I personally don't like how anyone uses cookies (not just Google) so I disable cookies for all but the sites where they are absolutely required. The fact that Google collects IP addresses and browsing times is well within their rights. Its the same as when you go to a coffee shop every day and eventually the employees there come to recognize you and maybe offer a special they think you may like. (Granted, this kind of behavior is rare, but its just an example).
Just because Google can do this on an unprecedented scale doesn't mean its wrong.
welcome our new Google Overlords!
"customized content".. and also their definition of "personal information"
Are my emails "personal information" (on gmail) ?
Is customized content basically the same as google adsense ads or whatever the thingies are called?
Where else would Google receiver personal information? Companies they've overtaken?
I just don't remember giving Google much more then my traffic over the years..
~jennifer.k~
Does this pertain to information collected before they change it, because any information that they may have about you from before this, should be under the old PP, only new info should be used for this, how does this work?
-EL
Google, and yes, Yahoo and MSN, need to answer at least three crucial questions:
1) Google admits that your search terms are saved along with your unique cookie ID and your IP address, and a time/date stamp. However, they spin this by suggesting that it's merely part of the normal logging process. The question is this: To what extent does Google parse out and database this information for future reference and easy access?
2) Does Google have any data retention policies for various types of data, or do they keep it all forever?
3) On a country-by-country basis, how many requests does Google get from government officials for user information? We don't need names, but we need numbers, so that we can judge the comparative risks of using Google or other search engines for each country. China, for example, is riskier than the U.S., but even in the U.S. it's illegal for Google to disclose a request if it's a national security matter. However, they could reveal statistics if they wanted to.
I know I have searched for things that if connected could imply part of my (and my girlfriend's) medical history.
That seems to never get addressed.
"I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey
Some people act like internet sites are the only people collecting personal data. Did you ever use a "Club Card"? Heck, credit card companies have been giving away your personal information for decades based on your spending habits. We shouldn't pick on targeted internet ads like it's a new problem, its just a whole lot cheaper than mass mailing samples of toilet paper to a million people - this way than can target only those that wipe.
--Insert profound quote here.
FTFPP: ...Uses:... ...
:-/
We may also share information with third parties in limited circumstances, including when complying with legal process, preventing fraud or imminent harm, and ensuring the security of our network and services.
Man, that last bit is pretty vague, could be interpreted in many not so private ways.
Does anybody else feel the same tingling that Google might not be as Godly as we might imagine?
-Acercanto
It's the same reason I deleted my flickr account the moment they stated that a yahoo account would become mandatory. I might trust a big behemoth company like that with one view on my personal information (all my searches, all my email, all my photographs, all my bookmarks, all my blogposts, all my instant messages, all my
When applying for a job, will google HR peruse my gmail to make sure I'm the right candidate.
beware!! first off, i would never use anyones "tool bar" what a waste, the time it takes you to click the tool bar you could have went to the site anyways and preformed most of the same functions ( i cant think of time where i was like darn, i wish i had that "insert greedy company name here" tool bar. You dont need it, so dont use it, next up, google is going to collect everything they can about you , they probably have the largest database around on what you search for, when, etc, GMAIL, is another thing, after 180 days the property "sort of" becomes googles because it is stored on their server. They can scan through it at will i am sure
Is Google going to become "EVIL"? Could the Media darling status eventually fade away, could the honeymoon pass, and could their stock be held to the same standards as other business (e.g. the dot-bomb model failed for a reason).... What will happen next?
Oh boy I can't wait to see. By the way, has anyone read the Gator privacy policy lately? Did Google copy a few lines?
Go ahead, flame me. I'm not trying to troll; it's just my warped sense of humor i guess.
...oh wait we've already done that.
anonymous
What are the chances of Microsoft ever doing this for their EULAS?
On a more serious note, I think I would base my decision on which company I purchase software from depending on if they included outlines or "Cliff Note" versions of their legal mumbo jumbo. I hate companies like Microsoft who try to squeeze as much control into a license agreement while trying to make sure the customer is unaware of it. Of course, in Microsoft's case, they make sure that it'll be the next millennium before you finish reading it!!!
Now get back to work...bitches
...signing a "policy" that clearly says "I can change the rules at any time without notifying you".
This is written, in one form or another, in most employment agreements as well. Basically saying 'We can do whatever we want, when we want, no questions asked.'
But if you don't sign, you don't get to join/play/use/work.
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
I see they've taken the route that every other big corporation AND even an "administration" has chosen.
And like anyone has been fired yet on violating their privacy policies (someone in Wash DC comes to mind).
on the other hand, having Mom and Dad find out that you've been surfing for pr0n on your shared cable-internet connection is gonna suck big time, when the Google search page comes up for them with "would you like to see 'Nerdy Hoes' again, Professor Falken?"...
mmm... yeah... You see, we're putting the cover sheets on all TPS reports now before they go out...
They will not use your personal information except to "ensure that its network continues to function"
Haha, what they mean is that if one day they're low on cash, they need some new servers to handle a spike in traffic . . . they're guarenteeing they'll take your personal data and do whatever's necessary to get the money to keep the place running.
xkcd.com - a webcomic of mathematics, love, and language.
So in essence: google are still promising not to sell your details; they've clarified their policy against employees selling it on (they're anti-) and they've made the document easier to read. On the minus side, they've failed to provide information that Yahoo! don't provide either. Which seems to be about as evil as Google gets.
Of course, Yahoo does have a vested interest here. Maybe we should take this with a pinch of salt?
Don't let THEM immanentize the Eschaton!
Oh my God LOL!!!! I can't stop laughing!!!! Oh, it hurts.
sniff...
I really don't see the problem with businesses doing this type of thing.
If you run a R/L business you keep in mind what certain customers like. Its a bsic principle of sales. Cookies, and IP-logging is just the online way of doing this.
If you want to not use Google services to keep your tinfoil hat pinned tightly to your head, feel free.
I am not a Google fanboi, but I am pretty positive that most any internet related use is going to identify you and pin some type of information to you.
Thats just how it is.
Whether they know your name, address, search history, email content (using online email acct), I am pretty sure that all of this at some point so going to be available to SOMEONE with continued use on the internet.
Its scary, but I don't see a way around it. I make a pretty good attempt at disguising my usage at home, but when i have an IP address and I go out on to any web site...BAM...right there I have something that can be linked back to me.
I could go to Bob's CRAZY Search engine and hope that he knows what he is doing, and go to the 12 pages that he has indexed, or I can use Google, which has been upfront with their practices about what they'll use the information for. Someone offered a Google Search > Google News > Google Email traingulation method to try and learn more about you....well, I got news for ya, all of that info can be gained from your ISP, without all the smoke and mirrors, if there are people are so inclinded to get it.
Joe 6-Pack can't get that information from your ISP, but he can't get it from Google either, and anyone who is serious enough to want to go through the trouble of tracking you that hard, Google isn't going to be their main tool in getting to your ass.
And does this same Privacy Policy apply to Google Desktop search?
I'd have no problem with target adds for my searches, if they became too intrusive I'd stop using google search. Cookies and search information are fair uses of my privacy in this case.
Here's the 'do nothing evil' line of demarcation:
The index of my local drive should stay with my local drive. There is a major difference between a local search and a web search. Even the local search strings should be private in my opinion.
bent over about google that they actually have someone check the privacy policy each day for something new? Cmon yahoo, we all know google is greater than you, why dont you go pick on a company thats not your own size, I mean, one that only makes $750k a year compared to your $2.4B... Oh, wait, you already are. Assholes.
(in reference to the yahoo vs xfire case)
CIA passes secret contract with google to datamine all probable and possible terrorist in the world inlcuding sweet old USA and tele-localise all of them to be able to send in commandos to ship them off to guantanomo bay or another third world country to conduct truth finding interrogations.
If a few innocents go to goulag for the rest of us to be safe, that is a small price to pay for freedom, no?
This period will be known as the "Republicain Inquisition" in the history books.
Google save us from ourselves.
Fanbois, Antifanbois, equally as retarded and cut from the same cloth.
If you RTFA (did you?) you notice that there is a big "Associated Press" logo and several other notes that it is an AP article.
Why is Google all of the sudden exempt from all the privacy criticisms that everyone else gets mad about?
Lord High Crapflooder The Right Honourable Vlad Craig Esther McDavenpherson III
Destroyer of Mercatur.Net
It amazes me how many people are falling for this "Only the government can violate your rights" line. If we allow this to become an accepted idea, the government will just privatize all interaction with the population, and then can do anything they want to anyone they want because "Only the government can violate your rights", and the strip searches, property seizures, and imprisonments will be done by "private" companies.
Yahoo reports that Google
Am I the only one that sees a problem with this line?
... all those pr0n messages that send to gmail (because I obviously never google up any pr0n sites) ..
i don't even want to begin to wonder what searches would show up
when my little sister uses the computer
I hope they don't add a feature "Users who searched for this also searched for that". I often search for my name, so this would automatically let everybody know for what things I search often.
...they released the toolbar for firefox that has AutoFill for faster online shopping! I'll bet Yahoo released that in relation to this 'new' release of the FF toolbar in a futile attempt to reduce the numbers. Yeah, tin-foil hat, better make that a bodysuit...
Civilization, the death of dreams.
i sent this to google's 'contact us' link on its new privacy policy page :
... after our heads are chopped!
thought others might be interested:
**** start of email to google:
With regard to your new 'Privacy Policy' of Oct, 2005, and specificlly regarding this paragraph:
"If Google becomes involved in a merger, acquisition, or any form of sale of some or all of its assets, we will provide notice before personal information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy."
We must take great excption! Your words merely imply that you will "notify" us , not that you will allow any 'opt-out' . You seem to have further enshrined what is a massive threat to the privacy of all citizens.
Try again, google.
*** end of email to google
Please observe that our data is daily being added as a 'marketable asset' of google, vastly increasing its value in any future acquisition/merger/sale of the company!. Nowhere in the Privacy Policy does it say that we can opt-out of having our info given to any new owner! yes , we'd be 'informed'
I find this totally intolerable.
"There are 11 kinds of people: those who know binary, those who don't, and those who could not care less!"
As far as I'm concerned anyone that is that upset by this has something to hide.
actually, corporate entities are quite capable of violating peoples rights, just like many other entities. have you ever had factories dump toxic waste upstream from your home? have you ever been wrongfully detained by private security? been monitored by some private firm (..that you know about)? been sold a dangerously faulty product? been sold a completely fraudulently advertised product? had your personal contact information sold to a dozen telemarketing companies that you do not want business with, without your knowledge? had your finances stolen by some criminal executive?
if not, can you IMAGINE any of these things POSSIBLY happening?
are you going to justify it by saying "Well, you made the CHOICE to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time" ?
what you said is just ideology, nothing more. an entity's status as "corporate" or "government" doesn't affect its ability to violate peoples humans rights.
"A non-governmental entity collecting information you provide while surfing along on this Internet-thingy, that's no breach of your rights."
so, if a "governmental" search engine were to collect information that YOU provide while you're surfing the net, for the exact same stated purpose, it's a breach of your rights? but not when a corporation does the exact same thing?
INFORMED CONSENT should be the name of the game, but isn't. so-called corporations don't have any respect for your autonomy or privacy, though. in case you haven't noticed.
the fact is, if they don't have a good transparent opt-out system, available for people who wish to continue using google, then they're just a thug. maybe a thug with a "good business sense", but a thug all the same. which is why somebody might say "i feel that this is a breach of rights." it will take more than ideology to address those concerns.
anyway, it's nice to know that google can use my personal information to "ensure that its network continues to function." yeah, right.
If you are using mozilla (firefox), install & use "CustomizeGoogle" plugin.
emecki writes "Yahoo reports that Doubleclick has updated their privacy policy on user data collection. The new policy now explicitly states that 'Doubleclick may use personal information to display customized content and advertising, develop new services and ensure that its network continues to function.' It also adds that employees who violate the policy will be fired and prosecuted. They have also added a Cliffs Notes version of their privacy policy for those who don't want to RTFPP."
Google's desktop search has always sent search results back to google for "formatting" before being displayed, unlike the Microsoft search tool which is 100% local.
:p
Who's evil now?
Why, Google of course!!
Here's a rule of thumb that slashdotters should learn. The evilness of an entity is proportional to the entity's self-declarations of non-evilness.
-- "I never gave these stories much credence." - HAL 9000
I dont want Google to do the following kind of things using my information: ;)
1.) Use my orkut profile to advise me on jobs, books, or on dating women.
2.) Use my gmail messages to track my transactions and contacts
and so on..
I dont mind if they use my search behavior/preferences that I set to improve rankings - something like what A9 does. but nothing more..
Many countries have expressed their concern over Google earth showing their secret defence areas and important projects.
They should give more respect to privacy..
Why these never ending non stories about Googles evilness? Wake me up when theyve done something bad. I frankly dont see anything evil about them. Maybe i shouldnt compare them to any other company on the planet and do as some do, compare them to Mother Theresa?
HTTP/1.1 400
Which?
They all do this...
So, do we think they are evil now? No? They are still OK? Oh, OK. 'Hey Bob, /. said google is OK still...no, no, you can put away the torches and pitch forks, we don't need them yet.'
...
Obviously, Google sold its soul.
Anybody come up with a neutral search engine yet?
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
Here's something for you to try:
Set you browser to ask for you approval before accepting cookies, now delete cookies that go with any major copanies you've visited recently.
Go to google and search for a company name.
Ex: Type in "microsoft"
What happens when the results come up?
You're prompted to accept a cookie from microsoft.com.
Now, I never even clicked the first link (which is microsoft's homepage).
Why is it that a company is now allowed to add cookies to my machine (and potentially track my web browsing) simply because I looked them up on google?
This is company name specific. I tried "k-mart" and it didn't work. But "kmart" did trigger a request to add a cookie from kmart.com
The concerns of your privacy are important to us. Until further notice.
Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
The policy needs to be updated to include names of who's asses need to be kicked before corrective measures are taken...
If your business is insurance, it makes all kinds of business sense to identify individuals who look up high risk symptoms
An insurer wants to use search terms to discriminate against high-risk customers in order to offer the best value to low-risk customers. How would such an insurer distinguish a patient looking up information on her own symptoms from a practical nurse looking up information on his patients' symptoms?
Therefore, Trademark is Copyright.
Now you know part of why Mr. Stallman doesn't like the term "intellectual property".