I was reminded of the Google “Good to Know” campaign the other day, where they attempt to get out in front of the data ownership and privacy debate.
Creatively done and quite extensive, but it really leaves out one important part of the story.
Google Terms of Service state in section #11 how Google can modify user’s data. So, thanks for the nice tips on managing data on the web and Google and staying safe. That’s all very special, but it is a diversion disguised as an advertising campaign to keep users of their products from the real concern: who has control of your data?
And in an era where information overload is everywhere, don’t you think Google could of just said: “we own the right to use the data how we choose” and in less than 4,219 words (that’s just the Terms of Service section).
At Open-Xchange, we have consistently been advocating over and over and over for:
Retaining ownership, use and control of one’s own dataOpen data formats with access rights and ownership information that is vendor independentOpen data owned by the creators, not the services
We’re not kidding and live by what we say. Your data is safe AND OPEN using Open-Xchange. Good to know, don’t you think?