When I go online, my homepage is usually set on Google. I like Google for two reasons. One is because of its simple appearance. It’s just a logo and search box. No fuss, no worries. Two is it a reliable search engine. Compared to Yahoo’s search, Google, most of the time, hits the things I needed to search. It is much broader, more comprehensive and usually faster.
I happened to observe this note by Google when I went online.
Out of curiosity, I clicked on the link. And this page appeared…
Apparently, Google is simplifying all of its privacy policies of all of its products into one single policy. I am not a tech expert but this is how I understand this – Google is combining all of its net properties into one single umbrella so it would be easy to move from one Google property to the other. Under this, Google properties like Search, Gmail, Google maps, Google+, YouTube and Android mobile, along with 60 others will be merged into one single product experience.
So what’s wrong with this? Well, any information or data a user would give to one of those sites will be shared by all of them. And since almost all of the internet population uses Google and its products, everyone is affected.
According to online newspaper The Guardian, users cannot opt out of the new Google policy. The Guardian stressed, “Information about your YouTube choices might affect the Google search results you get, and your Google Maps usage might affect what ads you see the next time you search. Google will soon have a massive, all-inclusive database of your most private information, from your political leanings to your searches for prescription drugs. And there's nothing you can do about it, short of giving up your Google habit.”
Twitter, Facebook and Myspace have openly criticized this blatant attack on internet privacy. These sites have launched a campaign called Don't Be Evil to counter any attempt by the search engine to skew results towards one of its products.
How does it affect me? I have a gmail account and Google’s search is always a tool for me to traverse the internet. Other than these two services, all other products of Google are unnecessary to me. Therefore, whatever information I share in search and gmail is likely to spread to all other Google sites which I do not follow much less I am aware of. If the new privacy policy takes effect, it is easier to know the identity of a person on the amount of information he puts in the internet.
The new Google policy is set to take effect on March 1, 2012. It will be interesting to see how this agenda unfolds and how the online community will react to this new policy considering almost everyone will be affected.
Christopher P. Columna, Entry # 6
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