Canadian Watchdog Blasts Google Doesn’t Play Fair, Broke Privacy Laws
Google Inc. has been found not playing fair and square in Canada. The country's federal privacy watchdog said the Internet services provider violated Canadian privacy law through targeted online health advertising ads.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada told Wednesday that Google had been using the sensitive data that users post in their online activities. The agency made the disclosure as it acted on a complaint from an unidentified man who claimed he was targeted with ads for products that help sleep apnea, a type of sleep disorder characterized by shallow or disrupted breathing during sleep.
Chantal Bernier, interim privacy commissioner, said the man brought the complaint in 2013 when he noticed receiving related ads for a medical condition sleep apnea after he first searched for a device about it. When he visited other Web sites, the man claimed ads for similar devices would be there. Google's AdSense service was alleged to have been the one that delivered the ads.
The investigation revealed that a cookie had been placed in the complainant's browser. It ultimately triggered ads for sleep apnea devices to appear on the complainant's screen when he visited Web sites that used Google's advertising services.
Although online users have been warned that information they put on search engines could lead to ads related to such information being posted on the visited Web sites, Canadian law prohibits sensitive health-related information for such practices.
"It is inappropriate for this type of information to be used in online behavioural advertising," Bernier said.
"As Canadians spend more and more time online, they create a digital trail that can reveal a great deal about a person. Organizations such as Google must ensure privacy rights are respected in this complex environment."
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada further blasted Google, noting that the Internet services provider's own policy, said it will not associate cookies or other identifiers with information such as an individual's race, religion, sexual orientation or health.
Google for its part passed the blame on the advertisers. It has, however, agreed to make changes to prevent it from happening again and improve monitoring practices. Google targets June 2014 to implement the changes.