Privacy group steps up Gmail complaints

Google’s free e-mail service, Gmail, came under fresh fire on Monday when an international privacy rights group said the soon-to-be-launched service violates privacy laws across Europe and elsewhere.

London-based Privacy International, which has offices in the United States and Europe, said it has filed complaints with privacy and data-protection regulators in Australia, Canada and 15 countries in Europe.

“Privacy International alleges that the Gmail service violates privacy law, both in Europe and in other countries. The complaint identifies a wide range of possible breaches of European Union law,” director Simon Davies told Reuters.

The world’s most popular Internet search engine said earlier this month that it would soon start offering its free e-mail service, Gmail, with 1GB of free storage capacity–more than 100 times that offered by established rivals Yahoo Mail and Microsoft’s MSN Hotmail.

Google said Gmail, which is still in test phase, complies with data-protection laws worldwide. But the company has also said it may consider changes to the service because of privacy concerns that have arisen.

The terms of use have sparked controversy among consumer advocacy groups and some Internet users, largely because Google said its computers would scan e-mails for keywords to use in sending Gmail users targeted advertisements. It would also keep copies of e-mails even after consumers have deleted them.

Privacy International said these and other terms breach European privacy laws, which are stricter than U.S. privacy laws.

European law says that data should not be stored longer than necessary and that the “sniffing” of e-mails is allowed only under certain strict conditions.

“Google actively solicits user feedback on our privacy policies–if they can be made clearer or otherwise improved, we want to hear about it,” Google said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters. “We look forward to a detailed dialogue with data-protection authorities across Europe to ensure their concerns are heard and resolved.”

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