Germany wants Google to stop sharing customer data between services
Google's privacy-related woes in Europe aren't over just because France has issued a fine over a lack of transparency -- if anything, they're getting worse. Germany now says it will order the search firm to stop pooling user data, such as search histories and video viewing habits, under unified accounts. This strategy gives Google overly "in-depth" profiles of its customers and denies the right to limit what the company can see, according to a data protection officer speaking to Bloomberg.
Google says it's hoping to reach a deal with Germany, and it argues that the data sharing policy is meant to provide "simpler and more effective offers." If the order goes ahead, though, the company may have a lot of work to do. It spent roughly the past two years tying services together, in some cases making it harder to use sites in isolation -- just ask anyone who gets repeated prompts to use their Google+ accounts on YouTube. We wouldn't expect the company to completely undo its recent efforts, but it may have to give users more control over the information they share.
[Image credit: Alex Murphy, Flickr]
