Google, Privacy | featured news

Google has been fined by German data regulators after it admitted illegally recording information from unsecured wi-fi networks.

Regulators in Google's largest European markets are taking joint action to try and force the company to overhaul its privacy policy.

After having its hand slapped for information collection and exposure mishaps -- from Buzz to, most recently, Wi-Spy -- Google is wary of running afoul of regulators over privacy mistakes. Liz Gannes at AllThingsD reports that company sources tell her this fear was part of the reason for the company's unpopular decision to pull the plug on Google Reader: [T]he shutdown wasn’t just a matter of company culture and bigger priorities, sources said.

Google has agreed to pay a record fine for collecting wi-fi data as part of its Street View service.

A Senate committee approved a measure Thursday that would require law enforcement agencies to obtain a court-approved search warrant before reviewing any e-mail or other electronic content. The measure would close what privacy advocates describe as a loophole in the law in which Internet service providers such as Yahoo and Google may turn over e-mail older than six months if authorities obtain a subpoena, which does not require a judge’s approval.

In its biannual report, Google reveals which countries are asking for the most data... Governments around the world made nearly 21,000 requests for access to Google data in the first six months of this year, according to the search engine. Its Transparency Report indicates government surveillance of online lives is rising sharply. The US government made the most demands, asking for details 7,969 times in the first six months of 2012.

Turkey topped the list for requests to remove content.

Google Inc will pay $22.5 million to settle charges it bypassed the privacy settings of customers using Apple Inc's Safari browser, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday.

U.S. authorities are leading the charge as governments around the world pepper Google with more demands to remove online content and turn over information about people using its Internet search engine, YouTube video site and other services.

Last Thursday, Microsoft announced several new features to the upcoming IE10, which will launch as part of Windows 8. One of these features, which turns on “Do Not Track” by default, has caused quite a stir over the weekend as new outlets and bloggers have discussed the potential benefits and ramifications of this feature.

On Thursday, Google's much-discussed new privacy policy goes into effect.