State AGs Tell Google: More Transparency, More Control

Earlier today the Attorneys General or top consumer protection officials from 23 states sent a letter to Google to continue a dialog about its privacy practices. While the letter acknowledges progress that Google has made in the past, it also expresses continued concern about Google's 2012 decision to merge data from all of its services into a single collection. Moreover, the letter calls on Google to continue to take steps to give its users better control over their own information.

In particular, the letter recognizes that one of the essential elements of control is transparency. Settings and options aren't really effective unless we know what companies like Google actually collect about us – and not just a broad description in a privacy policy of the kinds of data that the company might collect but access to the actual data so we can truly understand both what and how much a company knows about us. That's the exact reason we continue to sponsor the Right to Know Act in the California legislature.

It's great to see the Attorneys General join the chorus calling for greater transparency. Legislators and companies both respond best when they hear the same request from multiple different sources. So please add your voice to the chorus and support the Right to Know Act today!