[Infowarrior] - MS improves privacy for search

[Richard Forno]

(Of course, Google's position is that 18 months is needed to "improve  
search quality" is really oodespeak for "marketing purposes" --- so  
kudos to MS here for bowing to EU concerns and using privacy as a  
customer attraction tool in the search engine wars.   -rick)

Microsoft to Limit Holding Search Data to Six Months
By PEPPI KIVINIEMI
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703837004575012443848020502.html

BRUSSELS--Microsoft Corp. Tuesday put pressure on Google Inc. in the  
race to provide more consumer privacy, saying it will eliminate most  
consumers' search data after six months regardless of what competitors  
do.

The company will "delete the entire Internet Protocol address  
associated with search queries at six months rather than at 18  
months," it said in a blog.

The move to grant online users more privacy comes after intense  
negotiations with European data privacy regulators who have been  
pushing for all search engines to limit the time they hold personally  
identifiable search data to six months since early 2008.
Microsoft believes that providing users better privacy protection will  
make the search engine "more attractive" to the customer, said John  
Vassallo, Microsoft vice-president of EU-affairs.

Microsoft's latest search engine, Bing, with 3.3% of the global search  
market, is lagging far behind market leader Google's engine, which  
holds some 85% market share globally, according to online marketing  
company Net Applications.

Google currently stores Internet protocol addresses which can be used  
to identify the computer used for searches for 9 months, and deletes  
all cookies after 18 months.

Although most search engines have significantly reduced the time they  
hold on to search logs since requests to do so by the European working  
group—comprising of all 27 national privacy officials—Mr. Vasallo said  
that there still remained a possibility that the European Union might  
want to regulate online privacy requirements.

Microsoft had earlier said that it was waiting for the industry to  
move together to reduce the time search queries are held to six  
months, but it said Tuesday it will now act unilaterally and called on  
rivals to follow suit.

Google maintains that it needs to keep queries for nine-months in  
order to improve search quality and to fight online fraud, such as  
companies artificially increasing the cost of online advertising,  
known as click fraud.

"Data from our search queries represents a crucial arm in our battle  
to protect the security of our services against hacks and fraud. It  
also represents a critical element allowing us to help users by  
innovating and improving the quality of our searches," Google said in  
a statement.

Microsoft, meanwhile, is convinced it can "manage the search data"  
within the six-month time frame both in terms of improving the online  
search and fighting fraud, Mr. Vasallo said.

Yahoo Inc., with about 6.3% of the global search market, cut its data  
retention to 3 months, from 13 months in late 2008.

Microsoft said it will take the company 12 to 18 months to implement  
the new data privacy provision due to technical demands that would  
have to be figured out first.

The European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, has also  
recommended that search data be made anonymous after six months.

Write to Peppi Kiviniemi at peppi.kiviniemi at dowjones.com