It has come to light that Google will change its privacy policy following a settlement with the UK data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Disucssing the incident, BBC news stated the ICO termed Google’s 2012 70-policy overhaul as “too vague when describing how it uses personal data gathered from its web services and products”.
Google has been treating with other European countries regarding its policies and will aim to find a similar solution. The European Article 29 Data Protection Working Party, which comprises of data regulators from around Europe, has been investigating Google for some time now.
Google has agreed to more transparency and ease-of-use. It will also provide “unambiguous and comprehensive information regarding data processing, including an exhaustive list of the types of data processed by Google and the purposes for which data is processed”.
Among other clarifications Google will include information about who may collect “anonymous identifiers”, and the usage of collected data.The implementation of the revised policies is to take place by the 30th of June this year.
Speaking for ICO Steve Eckersley, the ICO’s head of enforcement, said: “Whilst our investigation concluded that this case hasn’t resulted in substantial damage and distress to consumers, it is still important for organisations to properly understand the impact of their actions and the requirement to comply with data protection law.”
(Image credit: Today’s Google Doodle)
