Well, it is true. Google search plus is watching you! And now a watchdog group from the United States has taken the Google folks to the Federal Trade Commission again. This time, they are claiming that the new search engine functionality is violating the Privacy of its users. Imagine that.
In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (Epic) says it is concerned about the changes that have been implemented with Google Plus post go live.
Google has been fighting to catch up with Facebook in the social media space in recent years. But Epic is concerned by a new feature, called “Search Plus Your World”, that blends information such as comments and photos posted on its Google+ social network into users’ search results.
The service will also display Google+ business pages and notable Google+ users alongside the search results. The service aims to give users search results that are customized to their interests and connections. But Epic is concerned that it may make people’s private information searchable without their knowledge and that the changes potentially favour Google’s own services over those of rivals.
“Incorporating results from Google+ into ordinary search results allows Google to promote its own social network by leveraging its dominance in the search engine market. The move is not very popular across a host of other social networks, including Twitter.
In a statement released to the Guardian, a Google spokesperson wrote:
Our goal with search has always been to provide the most relevant results possible. That’s why for years we’ve been working on social search features to help you find the most relevant information from your social connections no matter what site it’s on. Search plus Your World doesn’t change who has access to content, it simply helps people rediscover information they already have access to. We’ve taken special care with our new features to provide robust security protections, transparency and control for our users.
But Benjamin Edelman, professor at Harvard Business School, found more than a dozen Google services receiving favored placement in Google search results. “Some have developed into solid products with loyal users. Others are far weaker. But each enjoys a level of favored placement in Google search results that other services can only dream of.”
Well, we at Zanity.com.au are not real surprised.
