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Jul. 23, 2007

Seeking to address concerns about personal privacy issues, MSN said it will reduce the time period in which it keeps records of users' Internet searches on its engine.

Microsoft said in a statement today that it will remove individuals' links to search records after just a year-and-a-half.

Microsoft's MSN unit and IAC/InterActiveCorp.'s Ask.com, the fourth-largest search site, in a separate statement urged rivals to adopt the same practices for collecting, using and protecting search and advertising data.

Overall, most search engines are facing increased scrutiny in Europe over their privacy policies and how they use data to compete for users by offering more personalized services and targeted advertising.

The European Union data protection agency is reviewing the privacy policies of Google and other search engines, including those of Microsoft and Yahoo.

Peter Cullen, Microsoft's chief privacy strategist said "as a whole, data retention is a very, very complex space.

Cullen added "we came to the conclusion that 18 months is a good time period."

In June, Google reduced the time it stores data to 18 months from 24 months after EU privacy experts indicated that two years may breach European data protection rules.

For its part, Yahoo said it will remove individuals' links to data after a 13-month delay.

On average, analyzing personal search records helps companies create more accurate searches for users and helps to better manage their advertising business, Cullen said. It also helps Internet companies provide better overall security, he said.

Cullen said "think about all the bad things on the Internet today, about people that are launching viruses and such other things. We need about 18 months' worth of data to analyze these sorts of trends."

The Article 29 Data Protection Working Party, a group of EU data experts that advises the European Commission, started reviewing Google's privacy policies earlier in 2007.

Part of the group will meet in two months from now, to discuss search engines and privacy in general.

Hans Tischler, a German member of the group, said "it is a very, very difficult topic." The commissioners are expected to make a ruling on the privacy issue by October, he said.

Lately, Google has come under increased pressure since it announced plans three months ago to acquire New York-based online advertiser DoubleClick Inc. for $3.1 billion.

Regulators reviewing Google's DoubleClick acquisition in the U.S. are looking at the amount of user data Google can control.

On May 9, the New York State Consumer Protection Board urged federal regulators to delay the takeover until Google offers consumers the right to prevent tracking and storing of information about the various Web sites they visit.

On June 2nd, Microsoft's MSN unit won approval from the U.S. FTC (Federal Trade Commission) to acquire DoubleClick rival AQuantive Inc. for about $6 billion.

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Source: Bloomberg News