Small companies like Google that overthrow the huge company, only to become titans themselves, are part of the American mythology. We have a ton of them. IBM, which is slain by Microsoft, which is slain by Google, which is in the process of being slayed by Facebook.
Almost in response to that, Google announced today it would unify all of its privacy polices for all of its various properties – Gmail, Google Plus, YouTube, etc. – with one, simplified privacy policy.
What was downplayed in all of this, however, was Google’s new stance towards user data: Google will now collect information on users search, what they send people via Gmail, what they post and +1 in Google Plus, what they watch on YouTube… essentially, they are going to be mining all data on a user no matter where they are in the Google universe. This will be particularly unsavory for people with Android phones, the mobile operating system created by Google. Those users will not only be giving Google their search data and e-mails – even their phsical location could be up for grabs, tracked through the device’s GPS.
Given how privacy is has grown from an enormous concern a few years ago to a magnificently huge concern today, Google’s new policy is concerning. Facebook, arguably Google’s biggest competitor, is itself facing huge problems because of its privacy policy.
The problem with their new policy, unfortunately, is that users cannot “opt out” of this. If you want to play on Google, you have to play by Google’s rules – like it or not.
It’s fascinating that Facebook got in trouble for its privacy policy because it pulled everyone into it, and then gave them the opportunity to opt-out. As such, most people didn’t know they were having their information combed through by Facebook. Their recent deal with the Government requires they make any of these policies “opt-in” – you not only have the choice of whether or not to let them study your information, you have to volunteer for it.
I can’t imagine Google won’t run into serious legal trouble declaring their intention to read people’s e-mails, save their search histories and build secret profiles on allow those users a way out.
Perhaps that’s not entirely fair. Google has given one option, albeit a cynical one: If you do not like the new policy, you can have Google scrub your information from their database through their Data Liberation Front team, and stop using Google services altogether. In short, it’s their ball, and if you won’t play the way they want you to, you can go home.
Time will only tell how successful they are with this. As a huge fan of Google since I got my first Gmail address, I would be devastated if they devolved into yet another enormous site I had to distrust. It is entirely possible this new application of user data will improve their sites enormously, and help Google users get better information, and better services. What scares me is our inability to say, “no thank you” if we don’t want to, and the risk of having that data – with all of the details of our personal lives – optioned or sold to the highest bidder.
Principle number 6 of Google’s 10 Core Principles is, “You can make money without doing evil.” I sincerely hope they remember this.
