The new ‘Send to Anyone on Google+’ feature which Google launched earlier this month has gotten a lot of negative feedback. Many people don’t like the fact that it opens up anyone with a Google+ account to receiving more spam. Consumer Watchdog, which is a non-profit group, has recently filed a complaint with the FTC against Google in response to this new feature. The complaint is specifically about the fact that Google+ now allows gmail users to contact Google+ users via email, without even knowing their email address.
The feature does have an opt-out option, so anyone who doesn’t want to be able to be contacted via email has to go into their Google+ settings and make an adjustment. Consumer Watchdog says that this is an invasion of a person’s privacy, and will make it easy for potential stalkers to attempt to communicate with their victims.
Essentially, they want the FTC to require Google to make this feature opt-in rather than opt-out. Of course, it is unlikely that very many people would actually opt in because that takes time and effort, and provides fairly few benefits. This is why Google wanted it to be opt-out to begin with.
The complaint is quite lengthy, and even refers to a 2010 FTC statement made about Google Buzz, the social service that has since been discontinued by Google. Consumer Watchdog says, “It is a material change from past information and data sharing practices on Google+ and Gmail. According to section II (B) of the “Buzz” Consent Agreement, Google must “Obtain express affirmative consent from the suer to such sharing.”
There is no indication on when the FTC will issue a statement on this matter, though it has gotten a fair amount of negative publicity since Google made the change, so they may act fast. It is difficult to ever predict what the FTC will do, however, if the past is any indication, it seems likely that Google may need to change this feature into an opt-in service.
What do you think? Will the FTC force a change? Should they? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
