Congress Not Happy About Google Buzz

A bipartisan congressional committee has written to the Federal Trade Commission asking the organization to look into complaints about privacy issues that were raised when Google launched its Buzz application.

The application publicly revealed the contacts whom users of Gmail and Google Chat communicated with most often. The Electronic Privacy Information Center and even a member of the FTC's board have already criticized the company's mishandling of user information.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee also wants to know if Google is using information to better target advertising to users through Buzz, as well as recently purchased mobile advertising provider AdMob.

Google responded, if indirectly, by announcing a new campaign to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 through a new lobbying organization, Digital Due Process, along with other technology companies.

Ironically enough, one of the organization's stated goals is to "better protect against monitoring of when and with whom you communicate."

By the government, of course. Google itself will continue its monitoring of when and with whom you communicate.

Jackson West recently visited the Google campus. Seemed nice enough.