Google Calls For International Privacy Standards

Google is calling for a discussion on international privacy standards to take place, both through a blog post on its site today and in a speech that was given to a Unesco conference today. From the post by Peter Fleischer, Google’s global privacy counsel:

Google is calling for a discussion about international privacy standards which work to protect everyone’s privacy on the Internet. These standards must be clear and strong, mindful of commercial realities, and in line with oftentimes divergent political needs. Moreover, global privacy standards need to reflect technological realities, taking into account how quickly these realities can change.

Fleischer called the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Privacy Framework the “most promising foundation” to build upon. The APEC guidelines are followed by 21 Asian-Pacific countries, he writes, and were formed for “the internet age.”

Google proposes global privacy standard from News.com has some nice quotes, background and includes a privacy advocate calling the guidelines “the weakest international framework for privacy protection.”

Google also plans a virtual debate on YouTube, will participate in a global privacy commissioners meeting later this month, and CEO Eric Schmidt is promised to be vocal on the issue, the article says.