Google backs down on web search privacy issues

Google Inc. plans to step up privacy protections for users of its Web-search engine by making its records of past queries anonymous after no longer than two years.

The Mountain View, Calif., company plans to announce Thursday on its corporate blog that it will make changes to its computer system over the coming year so that its search-query logs are automatically anonymized after 18 to 24 months, unless Google is legally required to retain the information longer. Google said it consulted with privacy advocates and regulators in Europe and the U.S. in making the policy change.

The move comes amid increased scrutiny in the last year of search engines’ privacy practices following Google’s refusal to comply with a U.S. Department of Justice subpoena, assented to by other Internet companies, seeking consumer search data and an uproar over the leak of search data by Time Warner Inc.’s ( TWX) AOL unit that, while partially anonymized, could be connected to individual users. It also comes as governments weigh legislation that could require companies like Google to hold onto data for extended periods for law-enforcement purposes.

Google is contending with privacy demands from consumers, a desire to improve its products and legal and regulatory mandates. “We think were going to strike the right balance,” said Nicole Wong, Google’s deputy general council.

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