Re:Are “free” web-services cheese in a mousetrap?
by Create on Sunday September 29, 2013 @11:09AM
(#6465356)
The data authorities in France had ordered Google to comply with its national law by defining specified and explicit purposes; to inform users about how it was processing their data; to define retention periods for the information it holds; to not proceed, without legal basis, with the "potentially unlimited combination of users' data"; to fairly slurp and mine passive users' data and get consent before storing cookies on their device.
But Google has declined and criticised French data protection legislation by claiming the law is not applicable to its online services.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/27/google_refuses_to_co...
It really boils down to who you choose to trust with your data. As an insider, I'm very happy with the privacy controls within Google. I'd be more worried about a less well-established player, regardless of whether they charge a fee for their product.