Consumer Watchdog has published a secret Google presentation (pdf) about target online behavioral advertising, as well as a satirical annotated version (pdf). Consumer Watchdog says, “Online search giant Google, already under fire for its privacy policies and a self-serving online book publication deal, is now apparently trying to persuade Capitol Hill policymakers that its so-called behavioral advertising, which targets users based on their browsing — is benign.” The group “has obtained  a ‘confidential’ and ‘proprietary’ Google presentation for lawmakers that, ironically, touts Google’s commitment to ‘transparency,’ but skirts tough questions about its secretive user data tracking, storage and sharing policies.”

Consumer Watchdog’s release comes two days after Google announced its new operating system and questions were raised about the new OS’s privacy implications. 

Consumer Watchdog’s annotated version includes questions that it says should be answered:

1. Why isn’t Google’s behavioral advertising opt-in rather than opt-out?
2. Why not prominently include a link allowing users to permanently opt-out of all Google tracking?
3. 2008: Google says it has no plans to use behavioral advertising… [that] it doesn’t work. What changed?
4. Is Google’s behavioral advertising REALLY about delivering more interesting ads or is it about expanding its data collection and targeting activities?
5. And just for fun… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RDe2Ia6YlM [Consumer Watchdog’s review: “Delicious, don’t-miss, nosy roommate spoof!”]

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 9th, 2009 and is filed under Anonymity, Identification, Security, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Possibly related posts:

• Carnegie Mellon: Empirical Study of How People Perceive Online Behavioral Advertising
• New York Times: Ads Follow Web Users, and Get More Personal
• In Major Shift, Google Uses Individuals’ Search Data for Targeted Ads