Google Buzz, the search giants new social networking feature, has generated countless headlines since its launch last week, most focusing on its novel and groundbreaking features, and some going so far as to dub it the Facebook killer.
But Buzz drew decidedly less glowing coverage on Wednesday, when a Harvard Law student filed a class action alleging that the service publicizes users confidential information without first obtaining their permission.
On February 9 the day Buzz was officially introduced 24-year-old Eva Hibnick logged into her Gmail account to check her messages, and noticed Buzzs new iconic four-color logo beneath the link to her inbox. Her experience was not unusual; Buzz was launched with no advance notice to speak of, leaving consumers to decipher the application for themselves. When Hibnick learned what Buzz was and how it worked, she was immediately concerned that the program improperly revealed her private information.
I feel like they did something wrong, Hibnick told ABC News. They opted me into this social network and I didn't want it.
It is by design that Buzz publicizes as much information as possible without any user input. Todd Jackson, the project manager in charge of the products rollout, wrote on Googles blog that Buzz is built right into Gmail, so you don't have to peck out an entirely new set of friends from scratch it just works.
Sounds good, but the program has several Orwellian aspects. Hibnick was most troubled by Buzzs auto-follow feature. When the program was first launched, it automatically signed users up to receive Facebook-style status updates from the six people they most frequently chat or e-mail with. How the program really determines who those people are, though, remains a bit of a mystery. This writer, for example, was set up to follow two people that he hasnt spoken to in several years. Only one of the remaining four was someone that he e-mails regularly.
Gmail quickly did away with auto-follow, modifying the site so that it provides a list of recommended followees, but leaves the ultimate decision to the user.
Hibnicks attorney, Gary Mason, said the suit isnt primarily about money (although Hibnick is seeking monetary damages), but about preventing the Buzz catastrophe from repeating itself. What we'd like to see as result is a commitment from Google that they're not going to do this again the next time they launch a product, Mason said.
The suit adds a new dimension to long-building concerns over Googles privacy policy. Reservations initially focused on the companys ability to know what any given person has searched for, along with features like Google Maps, which provides an instant birds-eye or street-view photo of millions of properties across the world. Eric Schmidt, the companys CEO, added fuel to the fire in an interview in December, when he declared that, If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place.
Hibnick is not the only one raising privacy concerns. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Tuesday, in which it argues that Buzz violated user expectations, diminished user privacy, contradicted Google's privacy policy, and may have violated federal wiretap laws.
EPIC wants the FTC to require that Buzz run as an opt-in application so that consumers have to affirmatively sign-up rather than as an opt-out program in which consumers are automatically enrolled. Mason, Hibnicks lawyer, also takes issue with Buzzs opt-out nature, describing it as an unfair and generally deceptive practice.
The filing comes at an already-stressful time for Google, which is fighting for final approval of a settlement in the massive four-year-old Google Books lawsuit. Judge Denny Chin was set to rule on the agreement today, but announced he is taking more time to digest the issues.
Hibnicks suit is being brought on behalf of all Gmail users whose accounts were automatically connected to Buzz. Mason estimates that there are over 30 million potential class members.
