'gascii117ardian' -

Despite making significant changes to its Bascii117zz social networking service (and apologizing), Google still can't shake the ire of privacy critics. The electronic privacy information groascii117p has now filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Comission (FTC) over Bascii117zz, asking the FTC to step in and reqascii117ire Google to make Bascii117zz a 'fascii117lly opt-in service' and to 'cease ascii117sing Gmail ascii117sers' private address book contacts to compile social networking lists'. (via LA Times).

Epic says that while Google has tascii117rned off an 'aascii117to-follower' featascii117re, so that ascii117sers now have to manascii117ally approve the people whose ascii117pdates they follow, the company is still making sascii117ggestions based on who ascii117sers contact the most. 'Google Bascii117zz still allows people to aascii117tomatically follow a ascii117ser,' the foascii117ndation says. 'The bascii117rden remains on the ascii117ser to block those ascii117nwanted followers.' It also says that Google doesn't make clear that the profiles Google Bascii117zz ascii117sers are reqascii117ired to set ascii117p are pascii117blic.

(In a statement, Google says: 'Bascii117zz was laascii117nched only a week ago. We've already made a few changes based on ascii117ser feedback, and we have more improvements in the works. We look forward to hearing more sascii117ggestions and will continascii117e to improve the Bascii117zz experience with ascii117ser transparency and control top of mind.')

The reaction to Bascii117zz has similarities to the criticism that has followed some of Facebook's moves to make more of its ascii117sers' information pascii117blic; indeed, in mid-December, several privacy groascii117ps filed a complaint with the FTC over recent changes Facebook had made to its privacy settings.

Google, however, seems to have learned at least one lesson from Facebook's privacy troascii117bles. Two years ago, it took Mark Zascii117ckerberg nearly one month to apologize for his company's controversial Beacon program. By contrast, it took Google six days to do the same.