Google is taking privacy and security extremely seriously. In order to prove this point, the team has doubled down on its commitment in fostering the values of its Global Cross Border Policy Rules (CBPR) program. Now that the internet has brought the world within arm’s reach, what exactly does this program uphold?
Photo: Bloomberg
Discussing the CBPR topic was the Google Chief Privacy Officer, Keith Enright who also authored an article going in-depth on the topic. It more or less explains the need for frameworks that support data flows of both essential and personal information as it crosses from border to border. This stands true as trust is a primary factor that runs the internet in the first place. The free flow of data we currently enjoy is due to the openness that serves as the backbone of the web. Without the people’s trust in this platform, the internet would never achieve its full potential which is a humongous waste for humanity at large.
CBPR as defined in the Google article is “a privacy certification that will allow companies to demonstrate their compliance with government-approved requirements for data protection, backed by a review of those protections by a third party.” This means that while the behemoth places privacy and security above all else, it is willing to engage in meaningful engagements with governments in order to still abide by the laws set.
In order to prove the importance of this topic, Google has already gathered a roundtable with representatives from 20 jurisdictions. The common goal of this was to discuss the endgame platform that protects individuals and organizations from harm, promotes innovation, and is ultimately scalable to the lofty aspirations of what the internet desires to become in the future (or, instead, our hopes for its growth). There was also a common understanding that fragmentation of the internet is to be avoided at all costs since it breaks apart segments of the world and is contrary to the very spirit of the free and open internet.
This applies to all Google products and services: from the Android OS, Chrome browser, Google Meet, Maps, Pay, and all the others revolving within this ecosystem. Enright has even claimed that they are working towards “deprecating third-party cookies” as a means of consumer safety without bringing harm to the current advertiser/publisher ecosystem that allows groups to monetize activity. As he puts it, giving the least information possible for the greatest return.
Of course, the firm also understands that this Google CBPR program isn’t going to be all sunshine and rainbows. Certain governments are less than willing to comply with initiatives such as these, preferring dictatorial control over all information concerning its citizens. Despite this, Google commits to studying these policies, analyzing their objectives, and finding workarounds that achieve these goals yet also maintain freedoms for their users. The firm is dead-set on “providing the highest levels of safety and security, irrespective of where the user is in the world.”
In pursuit of this, they will continue with their “thoughtful and responsible development” and encourage others to follow suit.
