Thursday, December 13, 2007

Google Privacy Policies Could Hinder DoubleClick Merger

A Republican member of the House of Represenatives wants answers from Google about its tracking policies, and he's upset he's not getting them. According to News.com's Declan McCullagh, Joe Barton wants more information about how Google tracks user queries, and how that information will be merged with information being kept by DoubleClick.

Google's reality is that because it is the biggest and most influential player in search and online advertising, it is being scrutinized more than other companies for its privacy policies, and rightly so. Just as Microsoft's every move for the past two decades is watched closely by privacy and antitrust experts, so is Google being ogled.

Google should -- and will eventually -- become more transparent and explicit in its tracking of user behaviors. Search queries are increasingly seen as private information, like one's list of books taken from a library, and Google needs to do a better job of protecting that information and detailing what is being tracked and how it will be used by advertisers.

I'm betting that the DoubleClick acquisition will go through, but not until practices even more transparent than what Ask.com is doing are put into place. The current scrutiny is good for everyone in the long run, including Google.

Posted By John Gartner at 06:17 AM
Permanent Link: Google Privacy Policies Could Hinder DoubleClick Merger | Comments (0)

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