Google privacy change sparks concern

Compulsory changes in Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) privacy policy for consumers, announced by the company Jan. 24, got a quick reaction from government experts, who warned their application in Google Apps for Government could jeopardize government information.

The new policy, which the company says will become effective on March 1, will permit Google to share data between its services. For example, through data collected from a location-enabled service, such as an end-user logging into a Google account from an Android mobile device, Google will be able to target regional advertising to the end user.

"The default setting for GAFG and for all similar services from other vendors should be no information sharing at all between services," said Karen Evans, former Office of Management and Budget administrator of e-government and information technology and Jeff Gould, chief executive officer of Peerstone Research, in a joint Jan. 25 statement. The two co-founded SafeGov.org, which bills itself as a forum dedicated to promoting trusted and responsible cloud computing solutions for the public sector.

"Furthermore, Google should clarify where its consumer product line ends and its enterprise products begin. Government users want to be assured that the cloud services they use are tailored to the unique security and privacy requirements of the public sector," they added.

Google says its enterprise offering for government, business and education will be unaffected by the changes. "The new privacy policy does not change our contractual agreements, which have always superseded Google's privacy policy for enterprise customers," said Google Vice President Amit Singh in a statement.

Among consumers, however, backlash to the planned changes has grown increasingly strong since the company announced it, with some members of Congress also voicing concern.

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