EU probes Google's privacy rules

Google's privacy rules in Europe are being investigated by an independent panel that advises the European Commission and EU governments on data protection.

In a letter to Google, the group, called the Article 29 working party, raised many concerns, including the company's practice of storing data from users of its search functions for up to two years. The EU is reportedly concerned about that length of time.

In March, Google said it planned to "anonymize" search records after 18 to 24 months, which means the last set of numbers in the IP address where the query originates would be eliminated.

Google says it is doing a lot to protect personal data gathered from users on its search engine, and that it would respond to the EU's privacy concerns before the panel's next meeting at the end of June.

Peter Fleischer, Google's global privacy counsel, said the California-based company needs to log details of user searches for security purposes to protect its search engine from hackers.

"We're the only leading search company to have taken this step publicly," he said, adding that companies such as Yahoo and Microsoft have not yet declared a limit to the information they keep.

EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini is backing the investigation, according to reports by the Associated Press.

Similar action was takenrecentlyin the United States when a consumer group asked the Federal Trade Commission to look into Google's privacy protection measures followingthe company's proposal to buy DoubleClick Inc., an online advertising company.

European data protection rules are generally stricter than those in the United States.