EPIC Files Interesting Complaint Regarding Google Services

Earlier this month, Google sent out an email admitting to a bug (subsequently fixed) which caused some documents on Google's cloud computing services to be shared without their owners' knowledge or consent (a copy of the email can be found in this blog post). Now, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has filed a complaint with the FTC asking it to investigate Google's procedures, to force Google to revise its terms of service, and to spend $5,000,000 on security research. The complaint also asks that Google be enjoined from offering cloud computing services until "safeguards are verifiably established." The complaint can be found here.

At this point, I actually don't want the complaint to succeed - at least, not to succeed in full, as I use some of the services in question, and I don't want to wait for Google to get its act together on privacy before using them again. However, while I don't want the complaint to succeed, I do think it makes for interesting reading for people who care about, but aren't familiar with, the FTC's role in protecting consumer privacy. Highly recommended reading, at least for that class of reader.

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