Google told to pause privacy changes in EU during French check

Google Inc, owner of the world’s most-popular search engine, was asked to “pause” changes to its privacy policy in Europe during an examination by France’s data-protection agency.

France’s National Commission for Computing and Civil Liberties, known as CNIL, will “check the possible consequences for the protection of the personal data” of Europeans that may come with Google’s planned changes, said Jacob Kohnstamm, the chairman of the Article 29 Working Party, a group of European Union data-protection regulators.

Google said last week that it will combine more than 60 privacy policies for some of its separate products, including Android software for mobile phones, to create a “beautifully simple, intuitive user experience.” The changes are due to take effect on March 1.

“We call for a pause in the interests of ensuring that there can be no misunderstanding about Google’s commitments to information rights of their users and EU citizens until we have completed our analysis,” said Kohnstamm in a letter to Google Chief Executive Officer Larry Page dated yesterday. CNIL will act on behalf of the other EU privacy agencies, he said.

Google doesn’t plan to delay the timing of the changes to its privacy policy, said Anthony House, a spokesman for Google. European privacy regulators didn’t raise any “substantial concerns” when the company informed them of the changes earlier.

“We have done the largest communication to users in our history and to delay would cause significant confusion, so no, we won’t be pausing,” House said in a telephone interview.

Data protection regulators in Europe can’t require Google to pause its policy changes, House said.