Google creates website explaining its data protection policy
Tue 8 Aug 2017
As the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is set to be implemented in the European Union in May 2018, Google has launched a new website which aims to ensure that its users understand how their data is being collected and stored.
According to research, almost 80% of IT professionals in medium and large organisations are not sure that they will be able to declare that their business is compliant with the regulation before the GDPR is enforced. However, tech giant Google is leading the charge and has not shied away from promoting its preparations.
‘We are aware that our customers and partners have significant obligations under these new laws, and so we conduct regular audits, maintain certifications, provide industry-standard contractual protections and share tools and information to help them with their compliance,’ said William Malcolm, Director of Privacy Legal EMEA at Google, in an official statement.
The new GDPR rules will apply to the majority of Google’s most popular services including Search, Gmail, AdWords, AdSense, DoubleClick, Analytics and its Cloud Platform.
Google has already put a lot of effort into educating users about its products. For example, its ‘Why This Ad’ program explains how the company uses private user data for advertising purposes.
The new website shares information about the control that businesses have over the data they share and the security of Google’s infrastructure.
The company explains that shared information is protected with technologies, such as HTTPS and Transport Layer Security, and that all emails and identity cookies are encrypted by default.
Google also emphasises that there is no ‘backdoor’ for the government. After receiving a legal request, Google explains that a special team reviews it and rejects the appeal if it is invalid or ‘overly broad’. All data requests are published openly in the company’s Transparency Report.
Earlier this week, the UK government announced plans to introduce a new Data Protection Bill. The law, drafted by Digital Minister Matt Hancock, will allow users to delete sensitive information from the web. The new Data Protection Bill will allow UK citizens to request that companies erase their data, aiming to simplify the data withdrawal process. Companies which disobey the new rules will be fined up to £17 million, or 4% of their global turnover.
