The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday that Google agreed to settle a complaint that it violated its own privacy promises to consumers when it rolled out its Buzz social-networking application.
The settlement requires Google to adopt a comprehensive privacy program and to submit to an independent privacy audit every two years for the next two decades. This is the first time the FTC has required a company to implement such a program.
The FTC’s action follows a recent spate of Internet-privacy investigations involving companies including Twitter and Facebook. It underscores a growing interest by federal regulators in protecting consumers online.
In the Google case, the FTC said in a release that the Internet giant “used deceptive tactics” when it launched Buzz through the accounts of its Gmail users.
The company did not inform its estimated 200 million Gmail users that it would launch a social-networking application using information in its e-mail accounts. Some users complained that contact lists and other data were publicly exposed and that they had a hard time opting out of the social application.
Buzz, launched in February 2010, allows users to post updates and share pictures and videos, operating in much the same way as Facebook.
Google, in its terms of service, had promised that information from Gmail users would be used only in the e-mail application. If the company wanted to use such data for other services, it promised it would inform users and ask permission.
