sued Google for allegedly “forcing all Gmail users to share their personal data in a public forum. At least in some cases, the first time that the User is connected to Google Buzz, a feature that lets you follow and be followed by personal contacts of Gmail was triggered automatically. Thus, the contact list of users became accessible to the general public.
Action on behalf of Eva Hibnick, a resident of Florida, has filed papers in federal district court in San Francisco, Eva Hibnick alleges that Google Buzz violated federal privacy laws by publicly disclosing information about Gmail users’ contacts.
“Imagine if a woman finds a ton of e-mails and chats of her husband with an old girlfriend. Imagine a boss to find out the exchange of e-mails from a child with executives from a competitor, “questioned the site” Business Insider “, right after the launch of Buzz.
Last week, Google announced changes to Buzz, after receiving complaints from Internet users about the lack of protection of confidentiality of correspondence. Among the changes is the application of a more visible option to not show the User Profile list of those who follow him or his followers.
The company also announced it would offer the possibility of blocking the followers
“These problems arose because Google tried to overcome their disadvantage in the market in relation to Twitter and Facebook, making secondary use of their data without permission,” said Kurt Opsahl, EFF, an organization of digital rights, the “Ars Technica “, adding that the Internet giant to make the Buzz is fully opt-in”.