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<div align=justify>The first federal lawsuit over Google's recently announced privacy changes was filed this week.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center is suing the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, claiming that Google's plans to streamline privacy settings for 60 different services and products beginning March 1 would violate a consent order the search giant reached with the FTC last fall. EPIC, based in Washington, D.C., wants the court to stop Google from implementing the new policy.

That agreement bars Google from sharing user data outside the company without users' permission. It also required Google to review the privacy implications of its products, set up a privacy compliance program, and conduct independent privacy audits for the next 20 years. The settlement arose from a complaint EPIC made to the FTC in early 2010 over the search engine's now-defunct social networking service Google Buzz, which EPIC claimed collected users' personal information without their consent.

Google's upcoming privacy changes would violate that order because the company would combine more information about users, reduce control of personal data, and give more personal information to advertisers, EPIC said in its suit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It is seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction requiring the FTC to enforce the order.

"The FTC has thus far failed to take any action regarding this matter, placing the privacy interests of literally hundreds of millions of Internet users at grave risk," EPIC's attorneys wrote in the complaint.

The FTC said in a statement that it closely monitors its consent agreements with companies, and "takes compliance with our consent orders very seriously and always looks carefully at any evidence that they are being violated."

Google denied EPIC's allegations, saying in a statement that it will keep personal information private and is not changing how personal information is shared outside of Google. The company said it has also undertaken an extensive effort to alert users to the upcoming changes, and it's set up a privacy compliance program.

"We're happy to engage in constructive conversations about our updated privacy policy," Google spokesperson Chris Gaither said in a statement, "but EPIC is wrong on the facts and the law."

The FTC also settled privacy complaints with Facebook and Twitter last year.</div>

''Taken from http://www.law.com''
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