Google Provides Details on Data Sharing Scrutiny

Alphabet Inc’s Google provided details over its policies for third-party Gmail add-ons but failed to completely address questions from US senators about the developers suspected of breaking the company’s email-scanning rules.

The way that user data flows between big technology platforms like Google and Facebook Inc and their partners has already faced scrutiny  around the world this year since Facebook revealed that it had done little to monitor such relationships.

Google stated in a letter to US senators that was released in public on Thursday that it depends on automated scans and reports from security researchers to monitor add-ons after launch, but did not respond to the lawmakers’ request to say how many have been caught violating the company’s policies.

Senators may try to search for further clarity on Gmail’s operations at a Commerce Committee hearing regarding the privacy practices to be held on September 26 for various officials from Google, Apple Inc, AT&T, and Twitter Inc.

Google did not provide any comments on the matter.

Gmail users must give their consent to activate extensions, which can aid them send emails on a time delay, get price-match rebates from retailers, and get rid of unwanted mailing lists.

Under Google’s policies, software firms that build these add-ons must inform users about the process with which they collect and share Gmail data.

The lawmakers’ inquiry came after a report in July that some add-on makers did not make clear to users that their employees could reviews Gmail messages and that their data could be shared with other additional parties.

According to software experts in March, auditing of apps that interact with Gmail, Facebook, and other services is quite lax.

In order to be sure, sharing to a fourth party is necessary for the proper functioning of some add-ons.

Google has told senators that it has already suspended apps because of “a lack in transparency to users,” without disclosing which violators are involved and when the enforcement actions have taken place.

Gmail, which is used by 1.4 billion people, is not the only Google service that is drawing lawmakers’ scrutiny about oversight.

House lawmakers inquired into Google in a separate letter last July whether smartphones with its voice assistant tool can or do collect so-called “non-triggered” audio in order to recognize phrases like “Okay Google” that activate voice commands.

The lawmakers cited media reports and stated that there had been some suggestions that third-party applications have access to and use this non-triggered data without disclosure to users.

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