Google made some mistakes when it launched its social media service Buzz and it is now paying the price. A privacy lawsuit was recently settled by the company to the tune of $8.5 million. Though this is just a drop in the bucket for Google, it sends a message to others regarding Internet privacy.
When it went live last February, Google Buzz automatically included the frequent contacts of Gmail users in public Buzz profiles. The company faced heavy criticism for this action and then rushed to make changes. Though its goal was to provide users with clarity regarding the privacy settings, it was too little, too late for some.
That February, one Gmail user named Eva Hibnick filed a privacy lawsuit. Google is paying $8.5 million to settle this lawsuit. The proceeds will be donated to several Internet privacy groups yet to be named. Under the terms of the settlement, Google must further educate the public about privacy-related matters regarding Buzz.
The fact that Buzz is not gaining ground in the social networking arena likely presents more of a concern to Google than does paying the multi-million dollar settlement. Google has yet to disclose the number of people using Buzz. The service lets users post photos, essays, status updates, and other content. “Followers” can make comments on that information, but they do not appear to be paying attention when a user account stops working, as Buzz user Leo Laporte discovered.
Mr. Laporte, a popular tech blogger and podcaster, did not even realize that his Buzz posts were not being published until two weeks had passed. Not one of his over 18,000 followers ever mentioned a word. Worse yet is the fact that it took six months for a user to encounter the issue with Buzz that was uncovered by Laporte.
Source: Krazit, Tom. Cnet news. Google settles Buzz lawsuit for $8.5M.
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