Eric Schmidt, Google chief executive has indicated Google Buzz user privacy invasion complaints was due to “confusion”.

Google has been struggling to react to complaints and has been affronted by legal action which have been as a result of Google automatically registering contacts and uploading photos in to the public domain. Improvements have been made though and Google have apologised.

But Schmidt, at Mobile World Congress, said that nobody had been harmed and issues were merely due to poor communication:
“I would say that we did not understand how to communicate Google Buzz and its privacy”.

“There was a lot of confusion when it came out on Tuesday, and people thought that somehow we were publishing their email addresses and private information, which was not true.”

“I think it was our fault that we did not communicate that fact very well, but the important thing is that no really bad stuff happens in the sense that nobody’s personal information was disclosed.”

Schmidt’s reply to complaints shocked angry users and was in contrast to Google’s other replies that have been apologetic for breaching privacy issues.

by Richard Armitage