FTC: Google Books Raises Privacy Fears

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz on Thursday expressed concern about Google's plan to digitize mass quantities of books, saying it "raises serious privacy challenges because of the vast amount of user information that could be collected." He said he was pleased that Google is taking steps to protect the privacy of Google Books users and noted that the Commission will have an ongoing dialogue with Google and others to ensure consumer privacy is protected when new technologies emerge. "As Google Books evolves we'll work to ensure that the privacy of online readers is fact, not fiction," he said.