Google lowers data retention limit

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 12 (UPI) -- U.S. search engine giant Google said Tuesday it would cut the time it keeps users' personal search data to 18 months to ease EU concerns.

The reduction to a maximum of 18 months from 18-to-24 months is in response to EU data protection officials' letter to Google last month asking it to justify keeping information about users' Internet searches for up to two years, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.

Google's privacy attorney Peter Fleischer confirmed the cut in a letter to Peter Scharr, chairman of the Article 29 working party, a group of officials advising the European Union on privacy policy. However, Fleischer said future data retention laws "may obligate us to raise the retention period to 24 months."

Data kept by the Mountain View, Calif.-based company include the typed search term, the Internet server's address and, on occasion, personal information contained on "cookies," or identifier programs, on an individual's computer. This material is separate from personal information Google collected over the past two years from people who gave it specific permission.

Earlier this year, Google agreed to store data for two years instead of indefinitely.