Leading article: In search of online privacy

News in pictures
News in pictures
Opinion blogs

Paul Volcker stands tall against the banking lobby

Why is Europe, which likes to present itself as an opponent of speculative "Anglo-Saxon" finance, li...

“Not growing inequality”

What do we want? “A fairer sharing of rewards not growing inequality.” Well said, Ed Mil...

A defence of competition in health care

Just when you thought he was six feet under and all forgotten, Andrew Lansley comes bouncing back up...

Suggested Topics

It will come as no surprise to anyone who has used the internet that online search engines retain a history of our previous searches and the identity of our computer. Indeed, it often makes our life easier to find that a page we have previously visited remembers us. But how long would most of us estimate that websites hold this information for? A day, perhaps? A week?

The answer is that Google, the world's top search engine, retains this data for up to 18 months; and other popular search sites do so for a similar period. That is long enough to make even the most net-savvy pause for thought. A report by EU data protection commissioners last week argued that it sees no need for search engines to keep such data beyond six months; and that Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and so-called "cookie" monitoring constitute personal information, which search engines ought to do more to protect.

Google was defiant yesterday, arguing that data retention is essential to its search engine software and quibbling with the commissioners' finding that IP addresses should be subject to the full weight of the data protection laws. But the public mood seems to be moving against the web titans. When it emerged last year that Facebook was sending adverts to users after tracking their web-surfing trail, an uproar from the networking site's users forced it to change to an "opt-in", rather than an "opt-out", system.

If Google insists on taking the lead in resisting the EU commissioners on data retention, the company might easily find itself on the wrong end of a similar user revolt.

This is essentially a question of privacy. An individual's search history, if collated over a long enough period, paints a pretty comprehensive picture of a person's interests, relations and intentions. Such information is valuable, perhaps even dangerous, in the wrong hands. The individual user should have access and control of this – not a corporation, or an advertiser.

It is not all one way, of course. We all need to be much more careful about what we post on the internet, particularly on social networking sites (which retain information not just for 18 months, but indefinitely). There have been a number of cases of employers checking up on prospective employees online. And many people are naively putting their personal addresses on the web, behaviour which can easily be exploited by identity thieves.

But the EU commissioners are right to argue that the inclination of the search engines to store as much information on individual users as possible needs to be reined in. Such sites should be allowed to keep hold of enough information to deliver a good service for trawling the web – and not a byte more.

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Career Services

Day In a Page

No secularism please, we're British

No secularism please, we're British

Arguments about the role of religion in national life have recently acquired a new urgency
Harold Tillman: 'Chinese tourists can save the high street – if we let them'

Harold Tillman interview

'Chinese tourists can save the high street – if we let them'
Working as a jail torturer ruined my life

Working as a jail torturer ruined my life

Meet the former soldier who has joined the political prisoners he tortured in Turkey's Mamak prison by suing the generals who led a regime of terror
The local high street jet shop

The local high street jet shop

Got a spare $50m and can't stand the queues at Heathrow? Get yourself down to London's first private plane dealership
Do you like your doctor? It could be the death of you

Do you like your doctor?

It could be the death of you...
The mysterious affair of how Agatha Christie is teaching foreigners English

How Agatha Christie is teaching foreigners English

Twenty of the author's novels have been adapted and presented with learning notes and a CD
Six Grammys, five years off: Adele puts love before career

Six Grammys, five years off

Adele puts love before career
The 10 Best binoculars

The 10 Best binoculars

From no-frills to bins with digital cameras
Milan for £300

Milan for £300?

A cultural family holiday - on a budget - to Italy's most stylish city
'Black-hole' resorts: Turn up, tune out, log off

'Black-hole' resorts

Turn up, tune out, log off
New Arsenal face an old question of credibility in San Siro

New Arsenal face an old question of credibility in San Siro

Remodelled since winning in Milan in 2008, for all their consistency – and prize-money – Wenger's side are yet to claim a European title
James Lawton: This prodigal son deserves no forgiveness

James Lawton: This prodigal son deserves no forgiveness

City would be putting their desire to win title ahead of morals if Tevez plays for them
Mark Cavendish: Is Olympic gold at end of the rainbow?

Mark Cavendish interview

Is Olympic gold at end of the rainbow?
Apple admits it has a human rights problem

Apple admits it has a human rights problem

After years of complaints and workers' suicides in China the technology giant faces up to the human cost of its gadgets
Peter Moore: 'I feel guilty I'm the only one alive'

Peter Moore interview

'I feel guilty I'm the only one alive'