Google’s New Privacy Policy Is Unacceptable and Jeopardizes Government Information in the Cloud

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According to SafeGov.org experts Jeff Gould and Karen Evans, Google’s recent changes to its privacy policy allowing it to combine information about users pulled from the entire range of its online products raises serious privacy concerns for Google Apps For Government (GAFG). These issues should not be overlooked by public sector officials who use the cloud or are looking to move to the cloud.
“This is a significant change for the GAFG service that Google sells to federal, state and local governmentsand warrants further review by the public sector. We hope Google will quickly clarify that it does not intend its new privacy policy to apply to GAFG users especially in light of their responsibilities under the Privacy Act and the E-Government Act.”
“As founding experts of the forum SafeGov.org, our mission is to promote trusted and responsible cloud computing for the public sector. By fostering a better understanding of the benefits and limitations of cloud technologies, SafeGov.org works to empower government users to make well-informed procurement decisions from the growing universe of marketplace offerings. Google’s new privacy policy will have a serious impact on the information collection practices and responsibilities for its GAFG service. By issuing this statement now, we seek to make government agencies aware of the issue before the new policy is implemented – and while there is still time to influence it.”
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