14 DAY TRIAL // With the discussion surrounding Google's settlement with book publishers and authors heating up and its competitors banding together against the deal, Google is also stepping up with an update on the Privacy Policy for Google Books. Google previously said it was unable to provide a more thorough policy, due to the fact the Books project was still pretty much a work in progress, awaiting the approval of the settlement agreement.
“While Google Books has always been covered by the general Privacy Policy for all of Google's services, we understand that the privacy of reading records is especially important to readers and libraries,” Jane Horvath, global privacy counsel at Google, stated. “To provide all users with a clear understanding of our practices, and in response to helpful comments about needing to be clearer about the Books product from the FTC and others, we wanted to highlight key provisions of the main Google Privacy Policy in the context of the Google Books service, as well as to describe privacy practices specific to the Google Books service.”
Google's existing policies will apply to the Books project as well, in its current form, and for the services that will be enabled when the settlement is finalized. For example, Google will not share a user's personal information with third parties unless it is compelled to do so by law or in very special circumstances. Also, the information related to what books users search for or read will not be associated with their Google Accounts, unless certain optional services are enabled, like the Web History.
Regarding the specific policies for Google Books, the company says that it stores some information, like the IP address and the browser cookies, in order to comply with its contractual obligations with the publishers to restrict the number of pages a user can read based on their location and the book's copyright status.
Finally, for the upcoming books and services that should become available if the settlement is approved, Google has established some policies as well. The company again stresses that some information will be stored and, in this case, shared with the Book Rights Registry, but it will not include account details. Also, when using Google Books from a public library or from schools and other institutions, Google will not need or use the account information. However, a Google account will be needed to buy the books covered by the settlement, but the information regarding the specific titles will also be kept to a minimum.