EU probes new Google privacy policy

The European Union's data protection authorities have asked Google to delay the rollout of its new privacy policy until they have verified that it does not break data protection laws.

Google publicised its new privacy rules - which regulate how the web giant uses the enormous amounts of personal data its collects through its search engine, email and other services - with much fanfare last week.

Since then, it has launched a huge publicity campaign informing its users around the globe of the new policy, which is set to come into force on March 1.

But that launch date may now be under threat.

In a letter to Google Chief Executive Larry Page, Jacob Kohnstamm, the chairman of the group of 27 national privacy regulators in the EU, said the French data protection agency has launched an investigation into the new rules and how they will affect Google users in the EU.

"We call for a pause (in the rollout of the new rules) in the interests of ensuring that there can be no misunderstanding about Google's commitments to information rights of their users and EU citizens, until we have completed our analysis," Kohnstamm wrote.

Google's search engine has a market share of more than 90% in the EU, with rival services like Microsoft's Bing gaining little traction.

The EU's competition authorities are already examining whether Google uses this dominance to stop other search engines from entering the market.

Google said in a statement that it had briefed data protection agencies before making its new policy announcement and that none of them had had substantial concerns at the time.

"Delaying the policy would cause significant confusion," it said in the e-mailed note.

In its descriptions of the new privacy policy, Google says its main aim is to simplify the more than 60 different set of privacy rules for its different services into one that is easier to understand for users.