22 June 2007

Microsoft, Yahoo! dragged into EU investigation of Google

The European Union's data watchdog has announced it is to widen its investigation into the system used to retain information on internet users by the web's leading search engines, expanding its initial probe into Google to cover rival search engines as well.

The European panel of national data protection officers has been investigating the search engines' use of personal data after concerns were raised over the length of time the companies store users' search habits as data.

The panel, known as the Article 29 Working Party, has decided to widen its investigation to include the likes of Yahoo!, MSN and Lycos.

Google and the others present a possible threat to security by storing users' data, claims the panel. "The Working Party will deal with search engines in general and scrutinise their activities from a data protection point of view, because this issue affects an ever growing number of users," it said in a statement.

However, Google chief executive Eric Schmidt has dismissed concerns about the company's size and abilities in the market, as well as its use of the data.

Speaking at a conference in Paris, Mr Schmidt said Google is "not a country; we don't have nuclear bombs. We're just a company", reports the Times.

However, earlier this month Google cut the amount of time it stored users' surfing habits from 24 months to 18, although the EU Working Party has suggested this will not be enough to halt the investigation.

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