Europe calls for tougher data rules

The European Commission’s Data Protection Working Party has called for a clamp down on the use of search data, in order to protect the privacy of search engine users.

The Working Party’s proposals, which are expected to be accepted by the European Commission, include:

• the deletion of search data within a maximum of 6 months;
• the deletion of data as soon at it no longer serves the purpose for which it was collected and
• the use of personal data for targeted advertising only if the user has signed up for this service.

The proposals would mean a change in working practice for search giants such as Google and Yahoo, which retain user data for 18 months before anonymising it.

The data collected from searches can include information about the search query, the user’s IP address, and which web browser was used to make a search.

The practice of using this information in conjunction with details from third parties, could be against the law unless the customer has given specific consent, according to the Working Party.

If the proposals are adopted in Europe, it will hit the advertising sector, which is pushing targeted ad services based on customer’s online data as the way forward for Internet advertising.

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