Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> JURIST - The Paper Chase

Legal News

: JURIST - The Paper Chase

Group claims Google Buzz social networking service may violate privacy laws

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] An Internet privacy advocacy group on Wednesday filed a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging that the new Google social networking service Buzz violates privacy laws. The complaint was filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and asks the FTC to investigate possible unfair business practices, privacy violations, and to restore to users greater control over their private information, including e-mail contact lists. Google released Buzz, a service built into Google's Gmail service, last week to bring about a "new way to start conversations about the things you find interesting." That release prompted almost immediate criticism regarding the possible privacy issues that arise from making information about e-mail contacts available to others. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada has also raised concerns about privacy protections with Buzz, and has expressed interest in working with the company to address users' concerns. Google's entry into the social networking realm has resulted in problems previously experienced by other providers, such as Facebook. In late January, the Canadian Privacy Commissioner launched a new investigation into Facebook's default privacy settings. The Canadian Commissioner had previously worked with Facebook in July and August of 2009 to increase users' control over privacy settings. In August, five users filed suit against Facebook in US Federal Court in California, alleging that the site violates California privacy laws.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on February 17, 2010 (boomark / email).