SAN FRANCISCO — A privacy watchdog has filed a federal lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission in a bid to stop Google from setting a new privacy policy.
In an unusual legal maneuver, the Electronic Privacy Information Center is asking a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order and injunction that would require the FTC to enforce the consent order it reached with Google last year.
Google settled with the FTC on charges that it deceived users and violated its own privacy policy when it launched the now-defunct Buzz social network. EPIC filed the original complaint that spurred the settlement, which requires Google to evaluate existing and new services for potential privacy pitfalls.
Google is set to issue a new privacy policy March 1. EPIC says the move violates the consent order and should be halted.
“Google agreed not to combine user data without obtaining affirmative consent. They are planning to break that promise to users on March 1. That’s why we needed to file this lawsuit,” said EPIC’s executive director, Marc Rotenberg. “If some users like the Google change in terms of service, that’s OK. They should opt in. But if other users don’t like the proposed change, they have the right to say no. This has to be the user’s choice, not Google’s choice. And the FTC must enforce its consent order to protect the rights of users to make these choices.”
An FTC spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment on the complaint filed in federal court in Washington.
A Google official responded with an e-mailed statement: “We haven’t yet seen the filing so can’t comment on the specifics. Protecting people’s privacy is something we think about all day across the company, and we welcome discussions about our approach.”
He added: “Our updated privacy policy will make it easier to understand our privacy commitments, and we’ve undertaken the most extensive notification effort in Google’s history to ensure that users have many opportunities to learn about the changes. We’ll continue to offer choice and control over how people use Google.”
Google’s new policy would govern how it uses the vast amounts of personal data it collects through its search engine, e-mail and other services. Google says it’s not changing its current practices, just making it easier for consumers to understand how it collects information. But the new policy does make it easier for Google to share data about a user among its services, such as Gmail and YouTube, if he or she is logged into Google at the time.
