PIC or Electronic Privacy Information Center is reported to have filed a complaint against Google stating that its latest social networking related service Google Buzz may have violated the federal wiretap laws. Allegedly, the complaint with FTC claims that Google's real time collaboration tool is engaged in unfair and deceptive practices.
When the Google Buzz launched in February, it was instantly criticized for involuntarily sharing the personal data of the Gmail users with others. The complaint filed by EPIC indicates that they are unsatisfied with the changes and they want the service should be deactivated by default. Users who want the service can opt for Google Buzz to be enabled on their account. They also want that user's address book should not be used by the service.
They had to bring some changes and make adjustments to Google Buzz to play defensively. And now, with a big can of worms open with Google by EPIC, they seem to be in some trouble now. Though it is still not clear how grave the situation is but it surely has turned from bad to worse.
Electronic Privacy Information Center is a public interest research group situated at Washington DC. It focuses on emerging civil liberties and protect privacy of people in the information age. They focus on strong privacy safeguards and litigate high profile privacy, First Amendment and Freedom of Information Act cases. Their activities range from privacy research, litigation, advocacy, publications, conferences and public education. They maintain two very popular websites epic.org and privacy.org.
http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/epic-google-violated-federal-wire-tap-laws/
When the Google Buzz launched in February, it was instantly criticized for involuntarily sharing the personal data of the Gmail users with others. The complaint filed by EPIC indicates that they are unsatisfied with the changes and they want the service should be deactivated by default. Users who want the service can opt for Google Buzz to be enabled on their account. They also want that user's address book should not be used by the service.
They had to bring some changes and make adjustments to Google Buzz to play defensively. And now, with a big can of worms open with Google by EPIC, they seem to be in some trouble now. Though it is still not clear how grave the situation is but it surely has turned from bad to worse.
Electronic Privacy Information Center is a public interest research group situated at Washington DC. It focuses on emerging civil liberties and protect privacy of people in the information age. They focus on strong privacy safeguards and litigate high profile privacy, First Amendment and Freedom of Information Act cases. Their activities range from privacy research, litigation, advocacy, publications, conferences and public education. They maintain two very popular websites epic.org and privacy.org.
http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/epic-google-violated-federal-wire-tap-laws/