Google’s new privacy policy, which essentially allows the company to use data culled across all of its services to inform content provided to individuals on the others, launched on Thursday to great concern around the world. Brafton reported last week that the National Association of Attorneys General sent a letter to the company in hopes of sparking a discussion of its issues with Google – and marketers might want to watch for changes in Google-derived search traffic as many users have threatened to close their accounts.
On its official blog, Google released an explanation of the policy on Thursday. As it has since first announcing the update, Google said that it hasn’t really changed much. More than anything, the new policy simply clarifies its methods so users understand the implications of using any of Google’s services – Gmail, Search, YouTube and the others.
“The new policy doesn”t change any existing privacy settings or how any personal information is shared outside of Google,” Alma Whitten, director of privacy for Google’s product and engineering team, said in the blog post. “We aren”t collecting any new or additional information about users. We won”t be selling your personal data. And we will continue to employ industry-leading security to keep your information safe.”
Despite Google’s insistence, consumers are still frustrated with the company’s tracking of their movement throughout the web.
Moreover, the European Union may very well be getting involved soon, as Viviane Redding, the EU’s justice commissioner, said on Thursday that the policy violates EU law. According to Redding, transparency requirements mandated by the group of nations have not been met by the company. Google has said throughout the process, that the policy is its move of transparency, as it combines the 60 sets of guidelines it formally held into one coherent rule.
Still, consumers, regulators and lawmakers are all still asking questions. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. Google account holders have said they would close their accounts in the face of the changes.
But if changes are accepted by users, Google claims the policy will increase relevancy and it could help marketers reach their optimal audiences. Brafton reported when Google first launched the policy that marketers will be able to target their campaigns more effectively. Content marketing campaigns will get a jolt, with users’ actions on YouTube, for example, affecting the results they see in terms of search results, ads served by Google and content recommended to them on the company’s other services.
