Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!
Codebreaker

Privacy policy prompts war of words

Marc Sanchez Jan 27, 2012

People are still up in arms about Google’s new privacy policy. So mad, in fact, that ink wells have been un-capped, quills have been dipped, and House members have sent a STRONGLY WORDED LETTER to the search giant. The Wall Street Journal reports the letter was sent by, “a bipartisan group of eight House lawmakers on Thursday demanded more information about the changes, including current information-collection practices, how the information will be stored and whether there are special protections for children and teens.” The letter asked for a response from Google by mid-February. The new privacy policies don’t actually go into effect until March 1.
Letter signatories include: Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), Joe Barton (R-Tex.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
Not to be outdone, yesterday Google released a STRONGLY WORDED BLOG POST defending its new privacy policy, saying “we’re making things simpler and we’re trying to be upfront about it. Period.
The clinking of spurs can’t be too far off in this showdown of WORDS (shiver).

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.