Google tells Congress it won't change privacy policy for Glass

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Google tells Congress it won't change privacy policy for Glass

 

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Google's privacy policy won't be altered for Google Glass, according to a letter sent by the company to US Congressman Joe Barton on 7 June. The statement came in reply to an open letter posing eight questions concerning Glass and privacy from the Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus, of which Barton is co-chair.

"I am disappointed in the responses we received from Google. There were questions that were not adequately answered and some not answered at all," said Barton after reviewing Google's response. "When new technology like this is introduced that could change societal norms, I believe it is important that people's rights be protected and vital that privacy is built into the device."

Since the caucus' original letter, Google has confirmed that it will ban facial recognition on Glass and has reiterated this in its response to Barton. Developers say, however, that it's possible to load facial recognition apps without Google's permission.

Google has attempted to reassure Barton by demonstrating Glass to him in person, the letter reveals, but it seems this has not appeased him. This is perhaps not surprising, given several issues raised directly in the caucus' letter were not tackled in Google's response, including a request for examples of when Google would reject requests on Google Glass that would risk the privacy of others.

When addressing the question of whether it would be refining or adding to its privacy policy as a result of Glass however, the company's answer was simple and succinct. "Use of Google Glass will be governed by the terms of the Google Privacy Policy. No changes to the Google Privacy Policy are planned for Glass," the letter states.

It isn't just US officials who have expressed concerns about the privacy problems posed by Glass. Representatives from ten international data protection agencies  also recently wrote an open letter to Google.

"Google Glass raises significant privacy issues and it is disappointing that Google has not engaged more meaningfully with data protection authorities about this technology," says Canadian Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart.

Google's main line of defence is that it has put measures in place that mean Glass users will have to give voice commands to activate the camera, and "social signals" -- a fancy way of saying lights -- have been installed to let others know when recording is taking place. It has also emphasised that users will have the ability to delete data and wipe the device remotely.

Google's CEO Larry Page has previously urged people to wait and see whether issues arise, rather than fearing technology that's not yet out there. As such, it's unlikely authorities will get the answers they're really hoping for until Glass is finally released into the wild.