Google Agrees Privacy Policy Changes With Data Watchdog

It is after the pressure put on Google by the UK Information commissioner’s office (ICO) that they have decided to rewrite their privacy policy.

Following this similar reviews are being conducted around Europe, where the firm must make it easier for its users to get to know how and for what the data is collected and used and need to submit a two year review which is the outcome of an investigation done by the regulators. It has come to the attention of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) that the personal data collected from the web services and products of Google are being too unclear. The outcome of this, made Google plan to implement the same with other European regulators.

The process involved in the inquiry: 

It all triggered off when the Mountain View company started being noticed by the regulator and its continental counterparts following their controversial policy which was updated on March 2012 that pooled 70 existing documents. This was later also joined by other data regulators who form the European Article 29 Data Protection Working Party. The investigation held made Google not only to agree, but also ensure that the accessibility to the privacy policy is easy as well as to redesign their account setting features in such a way that it allows the users to find its controls more easily.

Appeal: 

Apart from these clarifications, the company will also have to provide information pertaining to the anonymous identifiers, which are similar to that of cookies. Google has been given time till 30 June 2015 to put into practice all the changes and according to the rumors the company will be rolling out a single policy across the EU with the aim of satisfying each and every regulators who has opened the investigations. Google has also dropped the appeals related to these investigations which are being undertaken by the Spanish and French watchdogs.

According to Steve Eckersley, the ICO's head of enforcement, this step which has been taken will mark a very important step towards a long standing investigation and also the extended dialogue. He also added, while their investigation summarized that this case has not brought out any substantial distress and damage to the consumers, it is still very important for the organizations to accurately understand the influence of their actions and the need to meet and comply with the requirements of the data protection law. According to the spokesperson of Google, the company is very happy that the ICO has finally decided to close and put an end to the investigation. Google has agreed that they need to make improvements in their privacy policy and vowed to continue to work constructively along with the commissioner and the team in the near future.

As the result of closing this investigation, the company will not be fined for any of their actions in the United kingdom, this is completely opposite to the fine and penalties imposed on the company in France and span.