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Jeff Chester, Executive Director for the Center for Digital Democracy, said "It's clear that this is motivated in part to dampen the growing opposition to the [DoubleClick] takeover.
Google is attempting to head-off a global regulatory digital train-wreck."2 Moreover, Google's proposed privacy standards were questioned by Melissa Ngo, Director, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). She said that the APEC
privacy framework "puts the burden on consumers to prove they are being harmed."3
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Some experts argued that the privacy standards followed by the EU were far more stringent than the APEC privacy framework. There were also other practical roadblocks in formulating and implementing a global privacy standard. For instance, the technological advancements in this arena were so fast that it could make any global privacy standard redundant very quickly, they argued.
Some analysts felt that the Internet privacy issue had been a long time predicament in the Internet industry and a big name from the industry was needed to highlight this issue. As such, Google's attempts could be termed as a step in the right direction.
They pointed out that in June 2007, the company had framed a new privacy policy according to which after two years its cookies4 would automatically be deleted from the websites, which were earlier slated to be deleted in 2038.5
According to them, this act showed Google's growing concern to safeguard the consumer's privacy. Google had learnt its lesson from past criticisms against it and was trying to preemptively lead the Internet privacy crusade, they felt.
Additional Readings and References:
1. Phil Cogar "Google Wants Privacy Standards," www.bit-tech.net, September 17, 2007.
2. "Google Calls for Internet Privacy Safeguards," www.domain-b.com, September 17, 2007.
3. Tameka Kee, "Google's Press for Global Privacy Fans Flames," www.publications.mediapost.com, September 17, 2007.
4. Eric Schmidt, "Global Privacy Standards Needed," www.ft.com, September 18, 2007.
5. Ryan Paul, "EPIC Questions Adequacy of Google's Proposed Privacy
Standards," www.arstechnica.com, September 18, 2007.
6. Jeremy Kirk, "Google Calls for Global Online Privacy Standard," www.washingtonpost.com, September 14, 2007.
7. Matt Chapman, "Google Raises Internet Privacy Concerns," www.vnunet.com, September 14, 2007.
8. Jack Marshall, "Google Seeks Global Privacy Standards as DoubleClick Deal is Challenged in EU
and Australia," www.clikz.com, September 18, 2007.
Cases on related topics:
1. The DoubleClick Controversy
2. Pod Slurping: A New Dilemma for Organizations
3.
Google and the 'Click Fraud' Menace
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2] Tameka Kee, "Google's Press for Global Privacy Fans Flames," www.publications.mediapost.com, September 17, 2007.
3] Ryan Paul, "EPIC Questions Adequacy of Google's Proposed Privacy Standards,"www.arstechnica.com, September 18, 2007.
4] Cookies, sometimes known as web cookies or just cookies, are parcels of text sent by a server to a web browser and then sent back unchanged by the browser each time it accesses that server. HTTP cookies are used for authenticating, tracking, and maintaining specific information about users, such as site preferences and the contents of their electronic shopping carts.
5] Later it was reduced further to 18 months. |
