Compliance Management, Privacy

Google tweaks its terms of service for clarity on Gmail scanning

Google is battling a lawsuit over email scanning privacy concerns – and it will now do so with an updated terms of service agreement referencing the practices in question.

On Monday, the tech giant worked a brief section into its service agreement, which plainly states that its “automated systems analyze your content (including emails),” in order to provide users “personally relevant product features,” like customized search results, advertising, and spam or malware detection. According to Google, the automated analysis happens as email content is “sent, received, and when it is stored.”

While the Gmail scanning case against Google moved forward last fall, a federal judge in California denied the suit class-action status in March, meaning litigation would need to proceed on a case-by-case level.

Get daily email updates

SC Media's daily must-read of the most current and pressing daily news

By clicking the Subscribe button below, you agree to SC Media Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.