In the wake of Privacy International's controversial report that ranked Google lowest on internet privacy (reported lots of places: Google news search), privacy advocate Lauren Weinstein proposes that Google create an ombudsman position to communicate better with the public on this issue. Excerpt from his blog:
The ombudsman would be a non-lawyer who would be assigned full-time to act as an easily approachable and highly available front-line interface between the public and Google operational/R&D teams. This individual would be the primary initial contact for most queries from individuals and organizations who have specific problems related to Google content, privacy, or a range of other related policy matters. This technically knowledgeable individual would be well-versed regarding the relevant issues and ideally already possess a high degree of trust within the larger Internet community.
Such an ombudsman, by fostering open lines of communications, could immediately interact with members of the public and push relevant matters quickly up the chain of command inside Google for action as appropriate.
It's a great idea. Google may be correct to feel unfairly singled out by Privacy International (see Matt Cutts), but as the leader in this space they shouldn't be surprised. Instead of being defensive they should use the luxury of their position and resources to innovate on the privacy issue and set a higher standard, just as they did with search.
Update: Last night Google's Global Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer announced a change to Google's data retention policy in response to EU concerns: instead of their current plan to "anonymize our server logs after 18 to 24 months" they'll now do it after 18 months. Link: Official Google Blog: How Long Should Google Remember Searches? I don't know enough about this issue to say whether this really means anything.
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