(Untitled)

[msss]

Abusive ex-husband given information by Google Buzz, journalist sources revealed, pseudonyms wiped out.

*winces*

It looks like the Google Buzz privacy issues weren't just theoretical after all. I'm a lucky girl - I blocked my abuser's emails from Gmail a long time ago. The only email access that she has is through a different account that I use

Comments

[qodarkness]

Thank you for your posts on this. I never even went in to Buzz until after your first post and then was horrified to discover I had followers and was following people. I've never had a public profile (thank goodness) but have now unfollowed and blocked everyone who I was inadvertantly following/was following me.

I can't believe how very stupid Google have been about this one.

A

[msss]

Oh yes. I wonder whether the Privacy Commissioner has had any complaints yet.

[ajl_r]

Their behaviour seems to me to be all of a piece with their actions over the grab to digitise all the books and requiring authors to opt out if they object. Both moves assume that they - Google - somehow know what's best for people, never mind if people have very valid grounds for objecting or not wanting to be part of either move. #googlefail.

[msss]

Yes, the labyrinthine opt-out procedures do seem to be eerily familiar to those trying to deal with the ramifications of Google Settlement. Never mind that you shouldn't have to opt out in the first place. Do we have updates on that mess, btw?

[threeringedmoon]

wrt Facebook privacy issues: I think the takeaway from that show what that although many complained, few actually stopped using Facebook. I did, but I am the only Facebook user I know personally that stopped.

[msss]

I didn't stop using Facebook, but I changed the way that I use it. I don't know that walking is actually the best solution. My thoughts are that it's better to push back against the engineers in their ivory tower and give them a large clue-by-four.

I think the major problem for Google though is that it used information from a primarily private system to populate a public system, having previously explicitly represented (and I did read those terms and conditions) that it would keep the former private. That's a pretty big mis-step, ethically. It's not enough for me to quit using them yet, but it's a significant red flag. To their credit, they appear to have taken the criticism on board and made changes.