While it is still being criticized by the anti-tech community for its controversial Google Glass wearable devices, Google Inc. has come under fire again for its Gmail email service.
Google quietly updated its terms of service on Monday and has clearly outlined its content-scanning practices that allow it to deliver well-targeted advertisements to its users.
"Our automated systems analyze your content (including emails) to provide you personally relevant product features, such as customized search results, tailored advertising, and spam and malware detection. This analysis occurs as the content is sent, received, and when it is stored," the company's TOS read.
"...we may display your Profile name, Profile photo, and actions you take on Google or on third-party applications connected to your Google Account in our Services, including displaying in ads and other commercial contexts," it added. This includes comments and reviews of users, among other things.
The company also stated that it respects the choices of users to limit visibility or sharing settings in their account, such as when the user's settings do not allow it to share or to display their name and photo in an advertisement.
Google's announcement came following various lawsuits thrown at the company last month for the alleged violation of privacy of its users and anti-wiretapping laws by scanning private email messages for advertising purposes, according to research. The lawsuit defendants asked to combine their several cases into a single class-action suit, but Judge Lucy Koh of the U.S. District Court rejected the request. Her basis for rejection: user consent was crucial to the case and so it must be tried on an individual basis, not on class action.
Privacy advocates said such email scanning processes illegally intercept electronic communications without consent from users, but the argument of Google was that its users agreed indirectly to its activity and recognized such as part of the process of email delivery.
Google said it continues to improve and change its Services, noting that it may remove or add features or functionalities, or even stop or suspend a Service. It advised the public to look at these service terms on a regular basis for any modifications in the future.
Meanwhile, Google's competitor Microsoft launched a campaign called Don't Get Scroogled by Gmail that explains why its email service Outlook.com is far superior to Gmail.
"Outlook.com is different -- we don't go through your email to sell ads," the campaign stated.
