Google Inc (GOOG) and Privacy: 6 EU Countries Take Action

“There is a wider debate going on about personal data and who owns and controls personal data,” said Colin Strong, a technology analyst with GfK. “The question is the extent to which consumers understand the value of their personal data and the extent that they are happy with the trade that they’re getting.”

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has not commented publicly on the process, beyond saying that it complies with European law.

“No one is against Google’s objective of simplicity. It’s legitimate. But it needs to be accompanied by transparence for consumers and the ability to say yes or no,” Isabelle Falque Pierrotin, head of French privacy regulator CNIL, said in a recent interview. “Consumers have the right to know how the information is being used and what’s being done with it.”

Each of the six European states bringing legal action against Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has to make its own decision on how to handle perceived violations.

But regulations tend to lag technology, analysts say, and the delay is more pronounced in a digital age when small bits of information can offer increasingly powerful insights into the psyches of consumers or voters.

“Technology takes two steps forward and law, if we’re lucky, can take them one step back,” said Anthony Mullen, an analyst with Forrester Research who advises companies on emerging technologies.

The article Google and Privacy: 6 EU Countries Take Action originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Associated Press.

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