Google has agreed to make changes to its privacy policy and better inform users about how it handles their personal information. The move comes after an investigation by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) which found its existing policy is too vague.
The ICO has required Google to sign a formal undertaking that it will make changes by June 30 and take further steps over the next two years.
In its statement, the regulator says:
“Google has now signed an undertaking committing to make further changes to the privacy policy to ensure it meets the requirements of the Data Protection Act and to take steps to ensure that future changes to its privacy policy comply, including user testing.”
The ICO’s original investigation stemmed from Google’s introduction of a privacy policy in March 2012 which combined around 70 existing policies for existing services including YouTube, Gmail and Google+. It ruled then that the new approach did not include sufficient information for users on how and why their data is collected.
The ICO previously instructed Google to revise its privacy policy in March 2013. The company was also threatened with $19 million in fines by Dutch privacy regulators late last year over its policies.
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➤ Google to change privacy policy after ICO investigation [ICO]
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