Quote:
Originally Posted by christips
Another rumour quashed - thanks 
Part of the rumour is that Google will archive your web sessions back to your mailbox using the IP address and a active Cookie for the new data retention laws on behalf of VirginMedia ?.
Last edited by christips |
Google will in no way be involved in Virgin Media's compliance with data retention legislation this will be handled by dedicated hardware which will likely also be related to the Intercept Modernisation Programme.
Google will, of course, have records of what IP addresses you accessed your mailbox from, those are standard logs which all providers have. I have no idea what setting a cookie will do or how it will allow browsing habits to be tracked and legally compliant as it would require every page a subscriber visits to have something from Google embedded in it.
Dedicated hardware is required for retention of browsing history, simply setting a cookie on a website and hoping that a subscriber only visits websites where this cookie will be read is not good enough. Google Phorm, and if you can sift through all the stuff about privacy you should be able to get an idea of how such a system could work.
Google will not receive anyone's home address that is a clear and blatant violation of DPA and certainly not required for them to operate an email service. It's a ridiculous rumour to say the least. Google will not have access to people's billing information.