I am dismayed by the way Google has rolled out Buzz, and I am not alone. Many bloggers and news organizations have raised issues with Google’s misguided assumption that email contacts form the same kind of social network as users of Facebook and Twitter (etc.) have built up over time. For example, a NY Times article, Critics Say Google Invades Privacy With New Service, makes the following point:
“People thought what they had was an address book for an e-mail program, and Google decided to turn that into a friends list for a new social network,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, an advocacy group in Washington. “E-mail is one of the few things that people understand to be private.”
Mr. Rotenberg said that his organization planned to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission claiming that the Google’s use of e-mail conversations to build a social network was unfair and deceptive.
I use Gmail and many other Google products. In fact, several times a week I get unsolicited email from strangers that is NOT spam — it is more like “wrong number” email. I suppose Google Buzz would include those people in my social network, eh?
Whenever I thought about all the data about me that was in Google’s possession, I always felt a twinge of discomfort. But I believed them when they said protecting my privacy was of the utmost importance. In fact, Google lists five privacy principles on its Privacy Center webpage, that sound pretty good:
1. Use information to provide our users with valuable products and services.2. Develop products that reflect strong privacy standards and practices.3. Make the collection of personal information transparent.4. Give users meaningful choices to protect their privacy.5. Be a responsible steward of the information we hold.
