Google's new e-mail service sparks privacy concerns.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: News, Trends & Analysis

Search engine giant Google has announced plans to introduce "Gmail" a free Web-based e-mail service that would offer users 1 gigabyte of storage. In return for the storage, Google's technology will scan users' incoming e-mail and then deliver targeted ads based on key words in the messages. For instance, a user receiving a message about a friend's new car might also receive ads from insurance companies, gas stations, and repair shops.

And that has privacy watchdogs around the world barking. European groups recently lodged a complaint with U.K. authorities, charging that Gmail may violate Europe's strict privacy laws because it stores messages where users cannot permanently delete them. Europe's privacy protection laws give consumers the right to retain control over their communications.

According to BBC News, London-based Privacy Inter-national is so concerned about the new service that it has filed a complaint with the U.K.'s Information Commissioner, who is responsible for ensuring that privacy and freedom of information codes are enforced in the U.K.

More than two dozen privacy groups in the United States and Europe have demanded that Google suspend Gmail's launch, set for later this year, until privacy issues are adequately addressed. However, Google said in a statement that Gmail is fully compliant with data protection laws worldwide.

The California Senate recently approved a measure that would curtail Gmail. The bill allows e-mails to be scanned for marketing purposes but prohibits companies from compiling the information into a database. It also bans companies from selling or sharing the information they glean to third parties and requires that when customers delete e-mails, they are not stored by the e-mail provider. The legislation, which has moved to the state assembly, applies to all companies that offer e-mail services and places limits on e-mail providers' services to protect users' privacy rights.

Critics also want Google to drop its plans to retain copies of messages from accounts that have been closed. Google co-founder Sergey Brin told The Washington Post that no such database...