Privacy group files Buzz complaint with FTC
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 11:50Two changes in one week at Google Buzz weren’t enough to satisfy the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
The privacy group filed a complaint on Tuesday with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, seeking constraints on Google’s new social-networking service.
“This complaint concerns an attempt by Google, Inc., the provider of a widely used email service, to convert the private, personal information of Gmail subscribers into public information for the company’s social network service Google Buzz,” the complaint (PDF) reads. “This change in business practices and service terms violated user privacy expectations, diminished user privacy, contradicted Google’s own privacy policy, and may have also violated federal wiretap laws.”
Privacy concerns have tarnished Google Buzz since its February 9 debut, in particular because the service constructed lists of people to follow and be followed based on their Gmail address books and activities. As a result, Google made already two rounds of changes to Buzz to inject some manual approval steps into the start-up process.
Washington, D.C.-based EPIC wants more, though, and requests that the FTC:
Separately, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is looking into Buzz privacy issues, the CBC News reported Tuesday.
Google didn’t immediately comment for this article.
