Senate slams Google over privacy problems

Google was hauled over the coals by the Senate Committee on Environment and Communications last Friday, when Google spokesmen appeared before Parliament to explain the company’s actions regarding the Street View Wi-Fi debacle and how Australians are protected when they head online.

Two Google representatives appeared before the Senate committee, public policy manager Ishtar Vij and head of public policy Iarla Flynn. Both were met with harsh questioning, with senators exploring whether Australians are provided with enough protection when going online.

Labor’s Doug Cameron responded harshly when the two Google spokesmen were explaining how the company abides by the privacy laws of each country in which it operates.

“I was a bit perplexed by your response that you’re bound by the laws in the country that you operate,” Cameron replied, according to AAP. “People at Nike have been using that for years to exploit workers… it seems to me a standard corporate response – why can’t Google establish a best-practice approach on this and apply it across all of its operations?”

However, Flynn said this comparison was wrong and that Google was designing its own privacy policy to use in several jurisdictions.

“We’re very conscious of the different frameworks around the world, we’re designing our privacy policy … we try and set that as global best practice,” he said.

The company was also questioned about the Street View debacle, where it gathered data from users on unsecured wireless networks. While Flynn said the data has not been deleted yet, he also said the company had no plans to return those particular Street View cars to the road.

“We would like to do that, but we have no plans to do that at the moment,” Flynn said.

However, the pair also said that customers need to trust the company or move all of their data to other types of services. Vij defended the company’s use of “contextual targeting” on search platforms, which generates ads based on the content of a particular site.

Vij said the targeting platform uses the “same technology that scans [web and email content] for viruses and spam”.

But Greens senator Scott Ludlam said “we are very much relying on Google’s goodwill” with regard to contextual targeting.

Vij also said the company would consider helping law enforcement agencies in certain circumstances, but said it would stop when considering “phishing expeditions” which could be used by law enforcement agencies to monitor online communications.

However, this response wasn’t met with much enthusiasm either, with Cameron saying, “So you can phish for profit, but not for law enforcement… I think there is a bit of an issue there.”

Later on, Flynn defended Google’s use of user data, saying that, “If you don’t trust Google as a steward of your data, you are free to move elsewhere very easily.”

But after a particularly heated day of talks, Electronic Frontiers Australia spokesman Colin Jacobs, who also appeared before the inquiry on Friday, said the committee didn’t seem entirely convinced that Google was acting in the best interests of everyone.

“I don’t think the committee was entirely convinced regarding Google, and I think senator Ludlam even described it as ‘creepy’. It goes to show that our parliamentarians are very concerned about the use of user data.”

But Jacobs also said there was a lot of concern about the Government’s proposed data retention law, with the Privacy Commissioner even saying the law could be a problem. Such a law would allow law enforcement agencies to hold onto data such as a browsing history for future use.

“The people who spoke were very highly critical of the scheme. The Government is going to face scrutiny from Parliament if they implement such a scheme.”

Google wrote a blog post defending itself last week, linking to its privacy principles and saying that the company “takes privacy very seriously”.

“We are very aware of the trust that users have placed in us, and our responsibility to protect their privacy and data. Without our users’ trust, we have nothing; after all, on the web, competition is only a click away,” Vij wrote.

“Google is committed to empowering Australians to be in control online. With the right information and the right tools, users can make the most of the Internet and the opportunities it brings to every doorstep.”