Terms and conditions
Gmail's terms of use are, for the most part, pretty straightforward. Because the service is free, it's provided 'as is' -- Google can close it without notice at any time and without any liability. Also, Google says it will close any account that's not logged into for 90 days. There is the clause regarding e-mails remaining in the system once they have been deleted -- but anyone who seriously believes that deleting e-mails in any system removes all trace should probably surrender their PC now.
The really contentious part of the terms and conditions relates to adverts. Here, you agree that Google will serve ads relevant to the content of your e-mail using a completely automated process. Nobody will read your e-mail. However, Google has given itself a get-out by stating that no human will read the content of your e-mail in order to target such advertisements or other information without your consent (our emphasis).
What does this mean? We don't know. We have seen companies offering spam-filtering services in the past that use people to read corporate e-mails, but this is not an easy game to play. Even with the highest vetting procedures, you still never really know exactly who is reading your e-mail, and just what their motivation is for being there. If you don't want anybody to read your Gmails, just say no. And if you don't want a machine to read your e-mails, go elsewhere or use encryption.
Google states in its terms that it welcomes feedback, and that the privacy policy may change before the service goes live. However, the company is unlikely to change the ad-placement policy unless it meets some unmovable obstacle in the form of legislative bodies.
So far, that has not happened. In the UK, an initial complaint from Privacy International about Gmail was struck down earlier this month by Britain's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), partly on the grounds that under EU law, an Internet service is considered lawful as long as it explicitly spells out how the user's details will be handled in the terms of service. The Information Commissioner's view is that as long as Google is clear and transparent, there is no data protection issue.
However Privacy International's point is that because consent for e-mails to be read can only be given by an account holder, those who send e-mail to a Gmail customer will have no opportunity to consent to having their e-mail read for keywords.
So what, exactly, does the privacy policy say?
Google says:
- 'We collect limited account information and store and maintain your account and e-mail messages on our secure servers.'
- 'We will never rent, sell or share information that personally identifies you for marketing purposes without your express permission.'
- 'No human reads your e-mail to target ads or related information to you without your consent.'
The information that Google collects includes basic personal information for the account, such as first and last names, a backup e-mail address and a 'secret question' (together with an answer) in case you forget your password. And what about when you click on an advert attached to your e-mail? Google says that a referring URL is sent to the advertiser's site identifying that you are visiting from Gmail, but that it does not send personally identifying information to advertisers with the referring URL.
Those who care deeply about the privacy of their e-mails will find reason not to use this service -- but then, those individuals should arguably be encrypting all their e-mail anyway. For the rest of us, the adverts will either be ignored or provide an interesting diversion.
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