Google: We Can Be Trusted With Your Data
Google's CEO says people wouldn't use Google if it couldn't be trusted.
Google has gotten a lot of criticism over the accidental harvesting of WiFi and router data via the Google Street View cars. The search giant admitted its blunder after German Data Protection Authority asked to audit the WiFi data collected by the Google Street View cars. The mistake raised a number of questions about privacy and several countries launched investigations into the matter, including Canada, France, Germany and Spain.
Google is no stranger to criticism when it comes to user data and privacy. In a recent interview, CEO Eric Schmidt assured the Telegraph that user data is safe with Google because a combination of criticism, customers and competition keeps the company in check.
"I think the criticism is fine. I think criticism informs us, it makes us better. It doesn't bother me at all," said Schmid.
"Those concerns are real - I'm not trying to move away from them. The fact of the matter is that if you're online all the time, computers are generating a lot of information about you. This is not a Google decision, this is a societal decision. In Britain, you all allow yourselves to be photographed on every street corner. Where are the riots?"
Schmid goes on to say that all of Google's testing indicates that the vast majority of people are happy with its policy.
"The reality is we make decisions based on what the average user tells us and we do check. And the reason that you should trust us is that if we were to violate that trust people would move immediately to someone else. We're very non-sticky so we have a very high interest in maintaining the trust of those users."
Do you trust Google with your data? Let us know in the comments below!
(Via the Telegraph)

I'm not one of these people who believes its only a matter of time until google does something evil, because they are soo big. I think people have seen too many movies. Google has never done anything even remotely wrong by me, and they constantly bring out good, USEFUL product at a price I can't complain about. so for me it is very much a matter of IF not WHEN, and if it does happen - and I'm not saying it isn't possible - we can rest assured that the lawyers will sort them out good and proper.
Probably not.
Wihtout full disclosure? Read the privacy policy. They follow it to the letter. Any time they violate something, they apologize and fix their mess.
*shrugs shoulders*
Beside, it's not like Google is the only one gather our personal info. Many other companies are doing it as well but are not as willingly to discuss this topic as google is
Honestly, if you truly believe that all the data harvesting was an "accident" I'd ask why you're not sharing your obviously good drugs with me!
Because if you believe it was an accident, you are either on some other planet, or on drugs!
YOU CANT HARVEST THAT MUCH DATA WITHOUT KNOWING YOU ARE DOING IT!
And for them to say, oh we didn't realize we were doing this is total crap!
Not too long ago they were seen as altruistic, cyber do-gooders, making our virtual world a better place.
Now... not so much. Careful guys. The public are finicky and can turn in an instant.
“If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. But if you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines – including Google – do retain this information for some time. And it’s important, for example, that we’re all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act... it is possible that that information could be made available to the authorities.”
---Google CEO Eric Schmidt on your privacy and data
Among the necessary evils - I'd rather choose Bing over Google. Same goes for the browser.
I agree, I never trusted google so i stopped using it and switched to Bing, besides being better (obv imo but can be a fact), your info would be in good hands