ARTICLE · 23 FEBRUARY 2015

Google Signs UK Undertaking To Improve Its Privacy Policy

Reed Smith (Worldwide)

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On 30 January 2015, Google signed an Undertaking with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to improve and amend the Privacy Policy it adopted 1 March 2012.

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Cynthia O'Donoghue

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On 30 January 2015, Google signed an Undertaking with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to improve and amend the Privacy Policy it adopted 1 March 2012.

Among other things, the modifications to the Privacy Policy allowed Google to combine personal data across all services and products. For example, personal data collected through YouTube could now be combined with personal data collected through Google Search.

The Undertaking requires Google to address three of the ICO's particular concerns: (1) the lack of easily accessible information describing the ways in which service users' personal data is processed by Google; (2) the vague descriptions describing the purposes for which the personal data is processed; and (3) the use of insufficient explanations of technical terms to service users.

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