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Google’s Privacy Policies Scrutinized
Internet search giant Google faces scrutiny from regulators in the United States, Australia, Canada, and several European nations for its privacy policies. Google has drawn the attention as it attempts to acquire DoubleClick, the world’s largest Internet advertising firm.
Consumer organizations and privacy advocates have filed complaints with regulators worldwide, arguing that Google should be stopped from purchasing DoubleClick until it provides clarity as to its information collection policies. In its complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the Center for Digital Democracy, and US PIRG argue that "[n]either Google nor DoubleClick have taken adequate steps to safeguard the personal data that is collected" and "urged the FTC to require Google to publicly present a plan to comply with well-established government and industry privacy standards such as the OECD Privacy Guidelines."
Adopted in 1980, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data were developed to provide general guidance concerning the collection and management of personal information. OECD collects statistical and economic data for use by it member nations, including the United States.
In addition to the investigation launched by the FTC, as well as the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the Google-DoubleClick merger is currently facing investigations by the Australian Competition and Consumer Review Commission, the European Commission Directorate on Competition, and the Canadian Commissioner of Competition.
While the merger is under review by various worldwide regulatory bodies, Google's Global Privacy Counsel, Peter Fleischer, recently advocated for less-restrictive privacy standards than the OECD Privacy Guidelines dictate.
"Twenty years after they were first established, OECD guidelines are now but one voice in a large chorus of local privacy standards," wrote Fleischer on Google's Public Policy Blog. Fleischer issues a call for "a discussion about international privacy standards which work to protect everyone's privacy on the Internet."
"To my mind, the APEC Framework is the most promising foundation on which to build," he stated. "The APEC framework already carefully balances information privacy with business needs and commercial interests and, unlike the OECD guidelines and the European Directive, it was developed in the Internet age. Moreover, APEC involves countries with very divergent privacy traditions: from Peru to the Philippines, from New Zealand to Vietnam. Surely, if privacy principles can be agreed upon within the 21 APEC member economies, a similar set of principles could be applied on a global scale."
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) operates as a cooperative, multilateral economic and trade forum.
ARMA International Washington Policy Brief, October 2007
