Sunday Times 2
Gmail users or people who email them should not expect privacy, Google warns
Google has stated that people should not expect privacy when they send messages to a Gmail account. This is according to a brief that was filed last month in a U.S. federal court and recently picked up by Consumer Watchdog.
Google's statement was written in response to a lawsuit accusing the company of violating privacy laws when the company reads emails to determine what ads to serve based on the message's content (AFP)
The company claims ‘all users of email must necessarily expect that their emails will be subject to automated processing.’ A brief for Google said: ‘Just as a sender of a letter to a business colleague cannot be surprised that the recipient’s assistant opens the letter, people who use web-based email today cannot be surprised if their emails are processed by the recipient’s [email provider] in the course of delivery.’ The document was written in response to a lawsuit accusing Google of violating privacy laws when the company reads emails to determine what ads to serve based on the message’s content.
The latest lawsuit follows a string of accusations made against Google for it privacy policies. Last week, Google’s latest Android phone operating system revealed a feature that will scan for networks and track user’s locations even when Wi-Fi has been turned off.
The code used to build Android 4.3 claims that ‘to improve location accuracy and for other purposes, Google and other apps may scan for nearby networks even when Wi-Fi is off.’ By identifying nearby Wi-Fi networks a device can determine a user’s location and it can be used as an alternative to GPS. It also indicates that any location, or ‘other’ information obtained during this scan will be shared with Google or other apps installed onto a device. Google is yet to comment on what these ‘other purposes’ could be.
Nick Pickles, director of privacy group Big Brother Watch, said: ‘Google has repeatedly put profit ahead of user privacy and the way that the company ignored concerns from regulators around the world when it changed its privacy policy showed just how little regard it has for the law.
‘Just because Google is a big business does not put it above the law. The company has ignored the authorities and refused to make any meaningful changes to how it collects and uses people’s data.
© Daily Mail, London
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