On behalf of the European Union, French privacy regulators expressed “deep concern” over Google’s new privacy policy stating that the search engine company has not been “sufficiently forthcoming” in its investigation with the regulatory agency. The National Commission for Computing and Liberties (also known as “C.N.I.L.”) asked Google in February to answer a questionnaire, which included questions about how the company shares information with other Google services. A followup questionnaire was sent to Google requesting clarifying statements, to which Google responded that they will review the questions asked by C.N.I.L., and are confident that the privacy notices are compliant with European Union law.
Both in Europe and North America, regulatory agencies are beginning to take a more discriminate eye on privacy policy statements posted by companies on the Internet. The Era of “Big Data” has forced regulators to examine how businesses are handling their data, what disclosures are being made, and the integrity of the chain of custody of data, to name a few. Building a policy from the outset around data privacy will help businesses navigate through the regulatory waters, and more importantly, provide C-level executives with a comprehensive understanding of just how their data is being utilized.