Consumer Watchdog Exposes Google Privacy Problems

Nonprofit group finds data collection in Chrome Web browser

November 5, 2008
The nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog has put Google in its sights over what it claims are privacy threats stemming from the company's new "Chrome" Web browser.

Consumer Watchdog has created a video showing how your computer could be having an unnoticed conversation about you with Google. The group has called on Google's founders and directors to adopt new privacy safeguards that allow for anonymous Internet and software use.

Earlier this month Consumer Watchdog wrote the Justice Department to block Google's proposed advertising alliance with Yahoo based on these privacy concerns; an announcement about the deal is expected later this week.

The letter claims that the introduction of Google's new browser, known as "Chrome," without new privacy protections, poses an unprecedented threat to consumers.

"Google's role is now unprecedented because the Internet goliath is no longer merely collecting some data about how we search and surf the web," said Consumer Watchdog president Jamie Court. "Its new browser and software are actually sending information from inside our computers to its servers. If Google won't solve its own privacy problems, the company must be prepared for regulators to put the brakes on its unprecedented growth. State Attorneys General need to take action to protect consumers' privacy and make sure that computer users have the ability to opt-out of Google's web and browse anonymously."

Consumer Watchdog said it spoke with Google's team last month about its concerns, but the company agreed to address only one of the smaller privacy problems uncovered in the video.

Google claims users do not expect to be able to navigate the web anonymously, only to have anonymous moments, which is why Google does not have an easy to use privacy mode for its products. The consumer group's concerns center on creating a simple anonymizing button across Google's products and websites so that there is transparency and easy opt-out for those who did not wish to share their private data.

Most computer users do not focus on the huge amounts of data sent to Google's servers, Consumer Watchdog said. The introduction of Chrome, unless the privacy concerns are addressed seriously and quickly, could mark the end of real user control and choice online because:

• New asynchronous communications are occurring without users' full understanding, consent or control;

• Many Chrome features blur the distinction between the desktop and cloud computing, where a computer user's software, documents, data and personal information exist not on the consumer's hard drive but on Google's servers on the Internet. This creates confusion in the consumer's mind about the privacy and security of confidential information;

• Chrome's Incognito mode lulls consumers into a false sense of security that their actions are completely private and free from prying eyes when in fact they are not.

"Chrome provides Google unprecedented dominance over the transmission of computer data and warrants higher privacy standards," wrote Jamie Court and Consumer Policy Advocate John Simpson. "Chrome represents a once-in-a decade opportunity to raise the consumer privacy bar to new heights that will benefit consumers, content providers, and ultimately Google itself."

To protect user privacy Consumer Watchdog said Google should:

• Place a single prominent button on the main Chrome interface that can't be hidden or removed and that allows a user to enter Incognito mode instantly without interrupting the user experience. Once in Incognito mode, the application should assume we want to stay incognito, essentially treating Incognito as a default preference once a user has selected it.

• Provide clear disclosure on the Google search engine home pages so that users can easily prevent communication with Google before pressing the search button or affirmatively requesting an action. This could be an extension of an omni-present "Incognito mode" button. This disclosure needs to be made clear throughout all the Google applications including GMail, Google Talk, and the Google Toolbar. This disclosure needs to be more than a confusing warning a few clicks away. It should be a convenient, actionable feature so that the user can exercise informed choice.

• Ensure that Incognito mode has the full meaning the word implies when users opt for it. Incognito mode should default to SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) connections, provide an automatic IP anonymizing service, enforce a no-log policy on all Google servers including Google Analytics, as well as disable auto-saving, suggestions, and all other feature that use asynchronous event handlers other than button and link click. Incognito should disable all external calls to desktop applications and plug-ins whose applications fail to meet equivalent standards.

"We look forward to your response and to working with Google to make the company the standard bearer for privacy on the Internet," Consumer Watchdog concluded.

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