Google Publicizes Buzz Class Action Settlement

Rather than slink away in shame and silence, Google has decided to go public with its $8.5 million settlement regarding privacy violation when it launched Buzz.  Last night, it sent an email out that starts off, “Google rarely contacts Gmail users via email” and proceeds to let its users know that it is providing these millions to organizations that promote education about online privacy issues.

Privacy Revolution

I applaud Google not only for coming clean about the settlement but also implicitly suggesting that no one has all the answers about privacy issues when it comes to social networking.  This is the truly revolutionary aspect of this medium.  By giving everyone easy access to publishing online content, social networking shifts the paradigm about privacy.  What will it look like?  We don’t know but that doesn’t mean we can bury our heads in the sand and pretend we can avoid dealing with it.  Google is admitting it doesn’t have all the answers and is looking to share the questions, doubts, concerns in a public and non-commercial way.  Now we need to hold their feet to the fire and make sure this $8.5 million is spent in keeping with their objective.

Another Google Buzz privacy lawsuit

This one claims that Buzz violated Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Federal Wiretap Act and Federal Stored Communications Act and was filed by a New York in California Federal district court in San Jose.

Is bad publicity re: “Buzz” still good for Google?

According to this article, despite the lawsuits and consumer complaints about how Buzz invades people’s emails and publishes information they don’t want to see on a Google results, people are flocking to the social networking platform.  Just two days after Buzz launched, there were 10 million posts and comments logged on the site.

Irony on Monday morning

This article about forming a social networking website based on one’s joining a class action dispute against Google’s Buzz is pretty funny.

Google Buzz already target of class action

A class action has already been filed against “Buzz” in Northern California District Court by Eva Hibnick on behalf of the 31 million people whose Gmail accounts were by default linked to Buzz without their consent.   The consequences of this action are outlined as follows, “”the names of a doctor’s patients or a lawyer’s clients,” or the contacts of a gay person “who was struggling to come out of the closet and had contacted a gay support group.”

Complaint

Google Buzz running into privacy buzz saw

EPIC, the Electronic Privacy Information Center has filed a complaint against Google’s Buzz arguing that the change in business practices “violated user expectations, diminished user privacy, contradicted Google’s privacy policy, and may have violated federal wiretap laws.”

First Facebook and Google, it seem like the FTIC has to issue new privacy guidelines to help all of us cope with this brave new world.