An influential privacy watchdog has asked the US government to investigate Google+, the search giant’s social network, claiming it may violate people’s privacy and raises anti-trust concerns.In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (Epic) says it is concerned about the changes Google has made to its service since the launch of Google+.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jan/12/epic-ftc-google-search-plus-privacyAlso see:EPIC Urges FTC Probe Of Google Personalized Search
The Electronic Privacy Information Center Thursday urged the Federal Trade Commission to examine whether Google’s new personalized search results violate antitrust laws or a privacy agreement the Internet firm reached with the agency last year.Google’s new “Search plus Your World” service uses information from its social networking service Google + and other data to provide personalized search results. In a blog post Tuesday about the new service, Google said it would make it easier for users to find more personalized information on the Web, “the people you know and things they’ve shared with you, as well as the people you don’t know but might want to… all from one search box.”
http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2012/01/epic-urges-ftc-probe-of-google.phpEPIC Urges Trade Commission to Investigate Google Search
In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, EPIC has called for an investigation of recent changes by Google to Google Search, the dominant search algorithm on the Internet. EPIC cited Google’s decision to include personal data, such as photos, posts, and contact details, gathered from Google+ in Google Search results.”Google’s business practices raise concerns related to both competition and the implementation of the Commission’s consent order,” EPIC said, referring to a settlement that the FTC reached with Google that establishes new privacy safeguards for users of Google products and services and subjects the company to regular privacy audits. Recently, the Senate held a hearing on Google’s use of its dominance in the search market to suppress competition, and EPIC urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Google’s acquisition of Youtube, which allowed Google to give preferential treatment to Google’s own video content.
http://epic.org/2012/01/epic-urges-trade-commission-to.htmlGoogle Changes Search Results, Preferences Google+ Results
Google is changing the results displayed by its search engine to include data from its social network, such as photos or blog posts made by Google+ users, as well as the public Internet. Although data from a user’s Google+ contacts is not displayed publicly, Google’s changes make the personal data of users more accessible.Users can opt out of seeing personalized search results, but cannot opt out of having their information found through Google search. Also, Google’s changes come at a time when the company is facing increased scrutiny over whether it distorts search results by giving preference to its own content. Recently, the Senate held a hearing on Google’s use of its dominance in the search market to suppress competition, and EPIC urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Google’s use of Youtube search rankings to give preferential treatment to its own video content over non-Google content. Google has also acknowledged that the FTC is investigating whether Google uses its dominance in the search field to inhibit competition in other areas.
http://epic.org/2012/01/google-changes-search-results-.html