The New Privacy Protection Policy of Google

June 20, 2007 by mabs
Filed under: Other Articles 

Google has decided to come out with a new policy aimed at enhancing the privacy of its searches: server logs will be anonymized after 18 to 24 months. This makes Google the first top search company which created a data retention policy.

Google believes that longer data retention periods allow the company to guarantee security, innovation as well as compliance with the data protection demands of the Article 29 Working Party of the European Union. (The Article 29 Working Party is an advisory group whose members are national data protection officials from the European Union countries.) The Working Party commended Google for collaborating with it as far as data protection is concerned.

Retaining search server logs is in the best interest of both Google and its users since the latter stand to gain when Google enhances its search algorithms. Google is able to prevent efforts by third parties to conduct malicious access and exploitation of Google’s search system this way. Click fraud and web spam is headed off by Google. Google can defend its users from spam and phishing, among other threats. Google can also cooperate with law enforcement authorities in their attempts to investigate and prosecute grave crimes being conducted online. Furthermore, Google is able to meet legal requirements as far as data retention is concerned.

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