Saturday 3 March 2012

Google's Change in Privacy Policy

Recently Google have changed its Privacy Policy, which could herald the kind of advertising seen in the 2002 film Minority Report. The change seems a simple on. Google wants to merge all the data it collects from all its different outlets, for example Youtube, search engine's, e-mails, where you are in, if you have a Google smart-phone, to create a comprehensive 'reading' of your digital life. This all could seem very innocent, but there in lies the danger. Google is then totally responsible for a whole world of data which could be used for advertising, or more sinister ends by state secret services or governments themselves. As Jonathan Freedland states in his article, cited below, 'Yes, the Department of Health holds your medical records, but Google has almost everything else. If you worry about one, shouldn't you worry about the other?' (Freedland 02/03/2012)

Freedland, Jonathan (2012) From Google downwards, our digital masters much be watched.http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/02/digital-masters-must-be-watched-google. Accessed: 03/03/2012