Consumer group accuses Google of misleading users about privacy changes

{mosads}That settlement stemmed from charges that Google automatically opted users into its Buzz social network. The settlement requires Google to meet a set of privacy standards and to not mislead its users.

Google’s new privacy policy will consolidate the policies of its various services into a single document. The change will allow Google to share user information across its services. For example, users could begin seeing ads in Gmail based on the videos they watch on YouTube. 

“Our updated Privacy Policy will make our privacy practices easier to understand, and it reflects our desire to create a seamless experience for our signed-in users,” a Google spokesman said. “We’ve undertaken the most extensive notification effort in Google’s history, and we’re continuing to offer choice and control over how people use our services services. Of course we are happy to discuss this approach with regulators globally.”

But in their FTC filing, the Center for Digital Democracy charged that the changes are really about increasing Google’s advertising revenue by targeting users with more personalized ads.

“Google presents the information in a deceptive way that suggests consumers will benefit from the new policy,” the group wrote. “The Commission is obligated under the Consent Decree to ensure that consumers receive accurate information, and that Google not misrepresent the reasons for its Google privacy changes. Google’s official Blog announcement, its video description, and subsequent descriptions all fail to provide the disclosures required under the consent decree.”

The Electronic Privacy Information Center has filed a lawsuit to try to force the FTC to step in and block the privacy changes.