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Google Cuts Data Retention to Nine Months
In response to pressure from European Union data protection officials, Internet giant Google has halved the length of time it will retain personal search data; pledging to anonymize IP addresses after nine months.
Last year, recommendations from the EU regulators influenced Google to cut the length of time it keeps this data to a maximum of 18 months. Data includes the search term typed in, the address of the Internet server and sometimes more personal information contained within cookies.
Back in March 2007, Google became the first search engine to put in place a policy to anonymize its search server logs in the interests of privacy.
Global Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer states that while this was good for privacy, it was a difficult decision for the firm to make because the data is a 'critical ingredient of innovation' for improvements to search quality, security, fighting fraud and reducing spam.
After literally hundreds of discussions with data protection officials, government leaders and privacy advocates, Fleischer says that the firm's engineers have now developed methods for preserving more of the data's utility while also anonymizing IP addresses sooner.
'It's difficult to find the perfect equilibrium between privacy on the one hand, and other factors, such as innovation and security, on the other,' adds Fleischer. 'Technology will certainly evolve, and we will always be working on ways to improve privacy for our users, seeking new innovations, and also finding the right balance between the benefits of data and advancement of privacy.'
European Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot describes Google's decision as 'a step in the right direction', but adds that the period recommended by the EU is six months.
Web sites: www.google.com and www.europa.eu/index_en.htm .
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