Google responded to a letter from the members of the Congressional Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus concerning the privacy of its Glass, which "disappointed" Representative Joe Barton, a Texas Republican.
Google started off on the wrong foot with the law enforcement with its Street View service and now there are concerns regarding the Google Glass privacy issue. Google's recent response on Glass privacy is not convincing, at least that is what Representative Joe Barton (R-TX) says in a statement.
"I am disappointed in the responses we received from Google. There were questions that were not adequately answered and some not answered at all," Rep. Barton said in a statement. "Google Glass has the potential to change the way people communicate and interact. When new technology like this is introduced that could change societal norms, I believe it is important that people's rights be protected and vital that privacy is built into the device. I look forward to continuing a working relationship with Google as Google Glass develops."
Barton and the members of the Congressional Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus wrote a letter to the Google CEO Larry Page regarding privacy and security of Google Glass, earlier in May. The letter included a set of eight questions about Google's futuristic specs and privacy of non-users. It further demanded to know if Google planned to use Facial Recognition Technology in its new product.
In response, Google's vice president for public policy and government relations, Susan Molinari wrote that "protecting the security and privacy of our users is one of our top priorities." Google answered all eight questions asked in the caucus's letter. Molinari highlighted that Google built the Glass putting the users in full control. She added that Facial Recognition Technology was not under consideration at the moment.
"We've consistently said that Google won't add face recognition features to our own services unless we have appropriate privacy protections in place," Molinari wrote.
She also pointed out that the data stored on the Glass can be deleted if the user transferred the device to other people.
The company has tight security on APIs for apps to control if there is a breach in the privacy policy. Currently Google has also banned the transfer of the device and if lost or stolen, the data on the Glass can be remotely wiped off. The company also reserves the right to deactivate the Glass if resold, loaned or transferred without consent.
Google Glass is currently owned by a handful of users who paid $1,500 for an Explorer Edition at last year's Google I/O conference.
