The Googlization of Everything

International Herald Tribune:

European standoff over search engine data By Kevin J. O'Brien Published: October 5, 2008

BERLIN: For more than a year, European data privacy officials have been battling with U.S. Internet search engines, trying to get them to conform to European restrictions on the storage of personal information gleaned from the Web.

Now, as the U.S. titans Google, Microsoft and Yahoo continue to retain personal data beyond the six-month time limit established this year by the European Commission, regulators say their patience is running thin.

"For the moment, Google refuses to submit to European data protection law," said Alex Türk, the French data protection chief, who is also the chairman of a European Commission working group on the issue. "Despite some progress, significant work must still be carried out to guarantee the rights of Internet users and to ensure the respect of their privacy."

The dispute centers on the search engines' practice of collecting demographic details from users, which the Internet companies argue is needed to fine-tune searches, guard against fraud and aim relevant advertising at Web surfers.

That practice has raised concerns on both sides of the Atlantic. In the United States, four members of Congress began a review of industry practices in August, while the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is developing voluntary guidelines. For now there are no time limits on data retention in the United States. ...