Google email raises privacy concerns
4 April 2004
Google's recent announcement of its new, free email service, Gmail, has been greeted with concern by privacy campaigners and civil liberties groups. The company's reported plans to offer contextual, or content-related advertising alongside emails, has come under particular criticism.
Richard Smith, a privacy and security consultant, told Wired magazine: 'It's one of the creepiest things I have ever heard of. Can I, as a pro-life person, for example, target email messages that seem to be about abortion?'
Jordana Beebe of the Privacy Rights Clearing House (San Diego) said: 'The privacy implications of going through and perusing a customer's email to display targeting advertising could be the Achilles' heel for Google's service.'
Meanwhile, Larry Page of Google was said to be: 'Very surprised that there are these kind of questions'.
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