BRUSSELS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- An independent panel of
the European Union (EU) has launched a probe into whether U.S.-based Google
Inc.'s Internet search engine violates EU privacy rules, local media reported
Saturday.
In a letter to Google, the panel, made up of
representatives from EU member nations, demanded clarification about the
company's practice of storing and retaining personal information taken from
users for up to two years, said a spokesman for the European Commission.
Peter Fleischer, Google's global privacy counsel,
said the company attaches importance to the protection of personal data from
users on its search engine.
The company retains the data for security purposes to
protect its search engine from hackers and prevent fraud, he added, saying
Google would answer the EU's concerns before the panel's next meeting in
mid-June.
In the United States, three consumer groups also
asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Google's actions on consumer
privacy rights.
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