An Update on Google Books and Privacy
Friday, September 4, 2009 at 5:59 pm

We're excited about the wide range of support we've received to oppose the Google Books settlement unless meaningful privacy safeguards are established. Some people have asked how library privacy laws apply to Google and, last month, we looked and found they don't.

Since last spring, we've had detailed discussions with lots of people about Google's failure to protect reader privacy as well as some on our preliminary thoughts about what privacy safeguards should apply if the settlement is approved. As part of our research, we looked at current laws that protect reader privacy and also the many cases that safeguard the right to receive information anonymously. Rather than limit our thoughts about privacy to one of the non-enforceable "privacy policies," we've decided to file a motion to intervene in the Books settlement case that we are making public today.

While many people might think that a privacy policy would actually protect privacy, we understand that the privacy of reading records needs to be protected by real laws, strong privacy technologies, and independent parties.  We know that when most people think about this, they will understand that Google writing its own policy for what it can do with the information it collects is probably not the best way to protect privacy.  To provide users with a clear understanding of reader privacy, and in response to helpful comments about needing to actually protect personal information, we want the judge that is considering the settlement to be aware of the important ways that readers' personal information is typically protected, as well as the new threats to privacy when reader data is joined with other data, like search histories. We've also described some of the amazing ways that Google Books is tied into other Google products that could pretty much make it impossible for companies to offer similar services if the settlement is approved.

As we noted in our filing with the Southern District in New York, it is important that privacy safeguards be established at the time the settlement is approved and not after the fact. It's really crazy to think that Google would have the same incentive to safeguard reader privacy after the settlement is approved. And we know that privacy policies typically allow companies to do pretty much anything they want to do with the data they collect.

We take our privacy commitment to readers very seriously. It's also important to note the FTC hardly ever enforces a privacy policy, which is why we have asked the judge to reject the settlement unless meaningful safeguards are established.

An Update on Google Books and Privacy
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 6:59 PM
Posted by Jane Horvath, Global Privacy Counsel