The privacy wave

Privacy is the new buzz word at the moment with great concerns about Search Engines keeping consumer`s data. There has been a lot of uproar in the media lately and it appears as though all the big Search Engines are running around like headless chickens in an attempt to reassure consumers that data will not be kept for long.

All the Search Engines are updating their retention policies; it looks like Google started a trend that`s now turned privacy into a competitive feature. Ask and Microsoft are currently working on proposals to develop industry-wide standards to protect consumer privacy with search and online ads.

Danny Sullivan mentioned in his search cast that there is a tinge of PR stunt in this, but if looking for a PR edge will get the search engines moving then it may be the kick in the butt that they need.

It all started when Google announced that they would be making a commitment to erase all data after 18 months. This sparked negative attention from the EU privacy committee who sent them a letter.

Privacy International in turn lashed out at Google with a “report” finding Google to be the “worse in privacy”. Google went on to respond to the EU letter with a review on their retention time, the EU then realised that it`s not just Google and that other Search Engines pose the same privacy threats. Google responded to that with an announcement that cookies will expire after two years, rather than the previous 30 year period.

This sparked Yahoo to say that they would go the extra mile and say that they would erase portions of IP addresses and identifying cookies after 13 months.

According to an article published on Marketingvox, Ask then publicly announced the development of AskEraser, which purges search data completely. Microsoft said it would permanently remove the IP address and other identifying data after 18 months. Microsoft would also be working to give customers more control over what information it uses to personalise their online search experience.

Eventually Privacy International responded and recently called for an industry-wide meeting of major internet companies on privacy, promising a “status report” of those who accepted and declined. In the interim, the meeting was canceled with a view that a successful summit would require a sustained format for dialogue amongst industry and other stakeholders to which Google responded that it is happy to participate in a forum for a meaningful exchange of views on privacy issues.

Microsoft and Ask.com are now proposing that all leading search providers, online advertising companies and privacy advocates meet to discuss privacy considerations posed by the increase of online advertising and search.

It appears as though Microsoft and Ask are already excluding Google and Yahoo from important discussions and meetings. Peter Fleisher, Google’s global privacy counsel confirmed that they learned about this Microsoft/Ask initiative from reading about it in the press and not from Microsoft or Ask. He also claims that they have publicly said that they were in support of a process for further industry dialogue on online privacy issues.

According to Danny Sullivan from Searchengineland, this “PR stunt” that is being driven by Microsoft could backfire.

At the end of the day it`s not about who is better than who, this is not a competition. Privacy is way too important to play “PR games” with and if industry-wide standards are to be decided upon it is crucial that it does include everyone involved. This should be taken more seriously so that it benefits everyone involved especially the consumer.