Homework #3

Google Launches Marketing Campaign on Security and Privacy

Article by Sara Yin

January 17, 2012

            According to the article, “Google launched a multi-million dollar advertising blitz promoting online privacy and security”.  This public service-like campaign is also to repair its reputation about securing users’ personal information.  The ad wants people to visit its “Good to Know” website that includes tips on staying safe online and managing data that is shared with Google and other websites.  In the campaign, it shows definitions for “cookies”, “two-step authentication” and “malware”, etc.  Google’s privacy record has not been so good.  It has violated its users’ online privacy and has been blasted by journalists, politicians, security experts, and privacy watchdogs about it.  When the Google Buzz social networking site was launched in 2010, Google accidently exposed the contacts of its Gmail users.  This resulted in a class action lawsuit and Federal Trade Commission settlements.  Executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, Jeff Chester, said, “If grades were given out for privacy protection, Google would get a D plus.”  If I were a Gmail user, I would have been mad if all my contacts were out on the internet for people to see.  Since everyone uses Google because it is such a large search engine, they should really crack down on their privacy settings.  I think it is good they are launching this campaign because they need to secure their users’ personal information.  Before reading this article I did not really know that they had privacy issues or that personal information was being leaked.  They should be spending millions of dollars on this campaign because privacy settings and security is really important on the internet.