Tech

Google under pressure to rewrite privacy policy in EU

Josh Peterson Tech Editor
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Already under fire over allegations of participating in the Internet spying programs of the U.S., U.K. and France, Google could face legal action from European privacy watchdogs if it does not rewrite its privacy policy.

Privacy watchdogs in the UK, Germany and Italy have told Google to rewrite its privacy policy in Europe or face legal sanctions, 15 months after the search giant unilaterally altered them to unify data collection,” The Guardian reports.

The search giant first provoked an uproar from users, regulators and lawmakers in the U.S. and the European Union when it rewrote its privacy policy in March 2012 to allow user data to be shared between existing Google services.

By combining a user’s search and YouTube watching history with information gathered by other Google services, the company contended that it could improve the user experience for its users.

The change generated concerns that the company was changing how it shared personal user information outside of Google — something Google denied it was doing.

Public outrage over the revelations about the PRISM surveillance program forced Google and the other accused companies — including Microsoft and Facebook — to scramble to maintain user trust.

The companies petitioned the U.S. government to be allowed to publicly disclose more information about how the companies provide user data in cooperation with national security efforts.

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