Search engines warned {by EC} over data (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Darren Waters
Technology editor, BBC News website

Search engines should delete personal data held about their users within six months, a European Commission advisory body on data protection has said.

The recommendation is likely to be accepted by the European Commission and could lead to a clash with search giants like Google, Yahoo and MSN.

Google and Yahoo anonymise user data after 18 months, while MSN does the same after 13 months.

The body said search companies were not clear enough on data protection.
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Many search engines currently collect and store information from each search query, holding information about the search query itself, the unique PC address (known as an IP number), and details about how a user makes their searches, such as the web browser that is being used.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7335359.stm