Google faces
increased scrutiny because of its approach to consumer privacy, said Thursday
it will open in the communal networking site for youth, matching competitors procedure
such as Facebook and MySpace.
The progress
comes as some privacy advocates and policymaker seeking special protections for
online youth, especially on social networks as they tend to eagerly share
information about themselves. It also comes after the controversial quoted this
week by Google to change the privacy policy.
With effect
from 1 March, the company will pursue the activities of users when moving
across the company's websites, including YouTube, the popular Gmail and main
search site. The company said the change would apply only to users who are
signed in to Google accounts.
Under the
new policy, said Google it can track the activities of young people as they
browse company's Web sites and withdraw
this information together in a coherent manner on the Internet.
"With
Google +, we want to help young people build useful links on the
Internet," A Google's Vice President Mr. Bradley Horowitz wrote in a blog
post. The decision to lower the minimum age to 13 resulted in adolescent users
demand, according to the company.
Rep. Cliff
Stearns County, R-Fla., Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and other six lawmakers wrote
to Google CE Larry Page Thursday, asking if the new policy would harm
consumers. They were particularly interested in why Google account holders who
wish to connect the company's services, cannot choose out of the new privacy
policy.
Lawmakers
wrote, "we believe that consumers should have the ability to opt out of
data collection when they are uncomfortable with the conditions of service of
the company, they should be able to exercise that option is simple and
direct."
Separately, Rep.
Edward Markey, D-Mass., Thursday the Federal Trade Commission to investigate
whether the new policy violates the recent agreement to privacy. Google
settlement last summer filed complaint with FTC, who accused that the company
violated the privacy of consumers by exposing the Gmail contact list for users
of social network Google buzz disbanded.
Google is 90
million users on Google (plus) compared with 800 million of Facebook. In
criticism of rivals, Horowitz wrote in a blog post that the competing systems
do not adequately protect users from oversharing, can destroy reputations
privacy proponents and exposure to predators and bullying on the Internet.
He said
young people on Google (plus) can create custom communications services for the
exchange of information, such as images and links and other content only to
specific friends. These circles of contacts make it difficult for information
leakage to the public, he said.
Before a
teen share something publicly, sites that encourage user to stop and think
harder about the decision to post.
Horowitz
said "Sadly, the most popular online tools on rigid and brittle which comparison,
even teens ultimately oversharing with so-called friends,"
Minimum age
13 sets by facebook and enables users to prevent personal information from
becoming public. Consumer reports has reported more than the estimated 7
million u.s.
Some privacy
advocates ethnic on Google for youth-oriented safety features, and it was clear
in explaining how to set up safely to privacy controls to users. But expressed
concern that young people may not like the new Google Privacy policy.
"It was
clear how Google will work but how good 13-14-or 15-year-old to
understand?" said Alan Simpson, Vice President of common sense media, call
for the safety of children online.
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