James Hutchinson
A group of ten global privacy heads has publicly urged Google chief executive Larry Page to reveal what data the search giant is collecting from users of its Glass wearable device, amid concerns the prototype could have implications for personal security.
Privacy and data protection commissioners from ten countries, including Australia, wrote to Mr Page this week in an open letter demanding Google “engage in a real dialogue with data protection authorities about Glass”.
The letter noted several major concerns, including how the prototype would comply with the data protection laws of individual countries, and what data the search giant would collect and store from users of the device.
Google Glass allows users to take pictures or video, or view content, much like a smartphone through a small attachment to a glasses frame.
The search giant has begun distributing prototypes of the device to software developers, at $1500 a piece, in a bid to determine its viability.
Rival companies such as Apple are rumoured to be developing similar devices.
Though not yet widely available, Google Glass has already raised the ire of lawmakers and some sections of the public over the possibility that the device could be used to intrude on individual or corporate security.
Google has addressed some concerns by placing restrictions on the types of third-party applications that can be used on Glass, including forbidding facial recognition, pornography and advertisements.
But privacy commissioners have long been wary of Google’s data collection practices, particularly after the search giant admitted it was intruding and storing data collected from unsecured wireless networks as part of its Street View maps program.
“We understand that other companies are developing similar products, but you are a leader in this area, the first to test your product ‘in the wild’ so to speak, and the first to confront the ethical issues that such a product entails,” the ten commissioners, including Australian privacy commissioner Timothy Pilgrim, said in the joint open letter.
“To date, however, most of the data protection authorities listed below have not been approached by your company to discuss any of these issues in detail.”
The Australian Financial Review
