Google gives privacy a special place
Google Inc. has made peace with privacy advocates over one of its policies, and it did so without cluttering up its famously sparse home page.
The Web search giant had drawn criticism for its refusal to include a link to its privacy policy on Google.com. Some groups called that a violation of state law.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company responded that it didn’t think the link was necessary because its privacy policy was “readily accessible” to those looking for it. It can be found, among other places, on its About page, which is linked to Google.com.
But Google quietly changed its stance and added a privacy link Thursday while privacy advocates were focusing their attention on another Google issue: A New York judge ordered the company to hand over information about YouTube videos and users to media giant Viacom Inc. as part of their copyright dispute.
Google announced the privacy link decision on its corporate blog and public policy blog.
On the former, Google Vice President Marissa Mayer said founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin had told her that she could add “Privacy” to the home page, but only if she subtracted another word -- to keep the word count on Google.com at 28. So the company removed “Google” from the copyright line at the bottom of its home page and added “Privacy.”
Mayer said that offering “easy access to our privacy information without any added home page heft is a clear win for our users and an enhancement to your experience.”
Mayer also explained: “Google values our users’ privacy first and foremost. Trust is the basis of everything we do, so we want you to be familiar and comfortable with the integrity and care we give your personal data. We added this link both to our home page and to our results page to make it easier for you to find information about our privacy principles.
“The new ‘Privacy’ link goes to our Privacy Center, which was revamped earlier this year to be more straightforward and approachable, with videos and a non-legalese overview to make sure you understand in basic terms what Google does, does not, will and won’t do in regard to your personal information,” Mayer said.
Thus ends the minor tussle over valuable real estate: Google’s home page. Privacy advocates get their link, and Google’s executives get to keep their home page clean.
