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Google and other search engines could be forced to ask users' permission to collect private data used to offer personalised advertisements on the Internet, EU regulators said.Online Target Ads

EU national privacy regulators, gathering on Monday in Brussels for the meeting of the Article 29 Working Group , said search engines should be more specific about their use of private information: "Generally search engines fail to provide a comprehensive overview of the different purposes for which they process personal data," they stated.Online Target Ads

The EU Data Protection Directive, which applies to search engines, obliges data processors to give "legitimate" reasons to use private information and in any case only with the consent of the subjects involved. In the report on privacy and search engines adopted on Monday, Online Target Ads,EU national regulators concluded that "it is difficult to find a legitimate grounds" for personalised advertisements "for users who have not specifically signed in".

The flourishing personalised ads market, in which Google is the uncontested leader, could therefore suffer a major setback in Europe if the principle agreed at European level is applied in the member states.Online Target Ads

National regulators also stated that the data retention period, when it is legitimate, should not stretch beyond six months, while at the moment search engines keep data for much longer periods,Online Target Ads.

The use of cookies, which are little files put by search engines onto users computers to get more detailed data on their browsing habits, Online Target Ads is also under investigation by EU regulators. They consider the expiration dates for their cookies foreseen by search engines to be "excessive". In some cases they are stored for years in the recipient's computer.


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	Google and other search engines could be forced to ask users' permission to collect private data used to offer personalised advertisements on the Internet, EU regulators said.Online Target Ads EU national privacy regulators, gathering on Monday in Brussels for the meeting of the Article 29 Working Group , said search engines should be more specific about their use of private information: "Generally search engines fail to provide a comprehensive overview of the different purposes for which they process personal data," they stated.Online Target Ads The EU Data Protection Directive, which applies to search engines, obliges data processors to give "legitimate" reasons to use private information and in any case only with the consent of the subjects involved. In the report on privacy and search engines adopted on Monday, Online Target Ads,EU national regulators concluded that "it is difficult to find a legitimate grounds" for personalised advertisements "for users who have not specifically signed in". The flourishing personalised ads market, in which Google is the uncontested leader, could therefore suffer a major setback in Europe if the principle agreed at European level is applied in the member states.Online Target Ads National regulators also stated that the data retention period, when it is legitimate, should not stretch beyond six months, while at the moment search engines keep data for much longer periods,Online Target Ads. The use of cookies, which are little files put by search engines onto users computers to get more detailed data on their browsing habits, Online Target Ads is also under investigation by EU regulators. They consider the expiration dates for their cookies foreseen by search engines to be "excessive". In some cases they are stored for years in the recipient's computer.