Google Books beefs up privacy policy after criticism

Google has released a more detailed privacy policy for its Google Books product, a move demanded in recent weeks by several critics of its settlement with publishers and authors.

The company announced the new policy in a blog post on Thursday, saying it was developed following conversations with the US Federal Trade Commission. Google had previously said it was unable to release a detailed policy because the Google Books product was incomplete because the settlement allowing its Book Search project to display certain types of books has yet to be formally approved.

However, criticism of Google's lack of detailed information on the subject appears to have forced its hand. "To provide all users with a clear understanding of our practices, and in response to helpful comments about needing to be clearer about the Books product from the FTC and others, we wanted to highlight key provisions of the main Google Privacy Policy in the context of the Google Books service, as well as to describe privacy practices specific to the Google Books service," wrote Jane Horvath, general privacy counsel for Google, in a blog post.

Google Books has opened up on its privacy policy after pressure from critics (screenshot: Bethan Jones/silicon.com)

Under the new policy Google will not require book searchers to create a Google account if they are viewing pages of books online, browsing books through a university's institution subscription to the book service, or accessing the book service from a public terminal at a library.

If users want to actually buy a book they'll need a Google account but Google will let users remove records of books they have purchased from their accounts and said it will not pass along information about specific books that were purchased to credit card companies.

Google plans to release a more detailed privacy policy containing specific language about the various services that will be available when, and if, the settlement is approved giving it the right to offer the service.

It's not clear whether these provisions will be enough to quiet those criticising the settlement on privacy grounds but it's a step in that direction. The proposed settlement will be debated at a court hearing in New York in October.

Original article: Google adds details to Book Search privacy policy from CNET News.com