Privacy watchdogs in the UK, Germany and Italy have told Google it needs to rewrite its privacy policies or face legal action.
The latest complaints follow similar ones from Spain and France, while Google has already been picked up on its collection of Wi-Fi data by its mapping vehicles.
The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said Google’s latest privacy policy, introduced in March 2012, has raised “serious questions” about compliance with the UK Data Protection Act and has set them a deadline of September 20 to alter it, reports the Guardian.
In response, a Google statement said: “Our privacy policy respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services. We have engaged fully with the authorities involved throughout this process, and we’ll continue to do so going forward.”
An ICO statement yesterday (Thursday) said: “We believe that the updated policy does not provide sufficient information to enable UK users of Google’s services to understand how their data will be used across all of the company’s products. Google must now amend their privacy policy to make it more informative for individual service users.”
If Google does not comply, a fine of £500,000 (US$750,000) could follow.
