Michael Zimmer, PhD, is a digital privacy and data ethics scholar at Marquette University
Last month I noted that Google's Street View service was being challenged by German data privacy authorities, who insisted that Google must permanently remove personally-identifying images from their databases (not just blur them in the user interface). Google argued that…
Read More Google Bows to German Data Privacy Demands, but Only Germany
Today, a six page letter was sent to Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt, asking Google to honor the important privacy promises it has made to its customers and protect users’ communications from theft and snooping by enabling industry standard transport encryption…
Read More Dear Google: Make Security and Privacy the Default in the Cloud
Google's Street View product has been criticized by privacy advocates since its very inception, including various posts on this blog. Two years after its release, Google continues to face challenges over its collection and treatment of potentially personally-identifiable images of…
News reports indicate that Google will begin providing free music downloads in China. Apparently Chinese Internet users have grown so accustomed to downloading music online, that piracy and illegal downloading has impacted music sales there more than even what the…
Read More Google + China + Free Music = A New Business Model for Online Music Distribution?
[Via Ann Bartow at Madisonian.net, via Bits & Pieces, etc] UPDATE: Adam Thierer at Technology Liberation Front jokes this is where increasing privacy regulations might lead us. I disagree, as this would have the opposite effect of any privacy-protecting regulation.…
Today, Google announced its long-awaited behavioral targeted advertising program. Building from its acquisition of DoubleClick, Google's new ad system -- which it refers to as "interest-based advertising" -- will use cookies to track users across the multitude of sites that…
Besides the founders and CEO, Marissa Mayer is probably Google's most visible celebrity. Recently, the NY Times published a (somewhat puffy) piece on the Vice President of Search Products & User Experience, highlighting her role in developing and designing Google’s…
This week, Google launched Google Latitude, a new Google Maps feature that lets users share location data with friends, using either a mobile phone or through an interface on iGoogle. (see how it works here) Unsurprisingly, concerns have arisen regarding…
Read More With Latitude, Google Actually Got it (Mostly) Right
Imagine you were in a room with Google's top product and policy folks, and you were asked "What is the one thing Google should do better for users?" What would you suggest? For me, it probably would be for Google…
I recently installed a Time Capsule in my home, and in the process must have been assigned a new IP address by my ISP. As a result, all my Google searches are being served from the German version of Google.…
Read More Having IP Problems with Google? Better Accept a Cookie, and Leave your Name at the Door
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