October 6, 2008 by Matt Thomas
In about two months time the European Commission is scheduled to hold a hearing with several US search engines with regard to data retention. However, some within the commission are already annoyed with several search engine providers, most notably, Yahoo, Google and Microsoft. The main source of friction being these providers’ refusal to comply with the EC’s demands that they delete all data collected from users after six months.
The EC is not alone in its annoyance, with services operating within the EU and obeying the law, like Ixquick complaining of being put at a disadvantage. “The value of the information we derive for advertisers is not as great as that of our competitors, who use the extra time to develop more detailed profiles,” claimed Ixquick CEO, Robert Beens recently.
In opposition to the EC, the US Federal Trade Commission, it is suspected, will only issue voluntary guidelines on the matter further muddying the waters in this international industry. EU Telecom and Media Commissioner, Viviane Reding weighed in recently, with a view to levelling the playing field, stating that, “The European regulations are there for everybody.”
The results of the hearing will be awaited eagerly by the industry.
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