UK Information Commissioners Office has now ordered Google to change their privacy policies that are introduced beginning in 2012 in a way that rules need to be more informative for users. ICO believes that the updated rules of the Law on the protection of personal data do not provide enough information for users in the UK on how to use their data in all of the company's products.

ICO gave Google a deadline until 20th September to do the changes in accordance with the Data Protection Act. Otherwise, the ICO can issue a penalty for serious violations of the Law on the protection of personal data of up to 752,000 U.S. dollars.

The UK is just one of the EU Member States which issued the warning to Goolge last month, among the others are France and Spain, while Germany announced even a possible lawsuit against Google. For Google, however, there is nothing wrong with their privacy policy, and the data that are supplied by the users helps them to adapt the current and make simpler and more efficient future version of the services. Google spokesman gave a statement via e-mail that says, "We are engaged fully with the authorities involved in this whole process, and it will continue in the future.".

[Ed - This is actually good news and might set a precedent for other countreis to follow. We do wish the fines were significantly higher though as that seems to be the only thing that corporations like Google understand. They are willing to risk the minor fines for the chance to gather data about their users. This information is a very valuable comodity and can be traded to other corporations and goverments... Sadly we do not have high hopes that the penalties for violating the personal privacy of the average internet user will ever get large enough to be a deterent, but hey... we can dream can't we?]

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