INTRODUCTION

On 24 January 2012, Google announced that, beginning 1 March 2012, it will synthetically manage all personal information obtained from around 60 of its services, including its search engines, e-mail (Gmail) accounts, YouTube and social networking services. As the world's largest search engine, Google aims to provide more accurate and customised services, by checking the history of services that each Google account holder has been using. The company policy stipulates that it will no longer ask the user to give separate permission related to information integration. This announcement, however, is drawing fierce opposition from major civic groups in the United States. They oppose Google's decision, because they are extremely worried about the company's ‘monopoly on information power’. They point out that the unilateral decision would make Google a kind of Big Brother, which will grasp all information about every individual, instead of providing users with a smart service, thus making internet use more convenient.

The AFP, on the other hand, reported, on 25 January 2012, that the European Union (EU) would require prominent internet companies, such as Google and Facebook, to step up the protection of users' personal information. If the revision takes effect, it will be applied to all twenty-seven EU Member States and to companies operating in those nations, even if their server is located in other areas. The measure is expected to be a hard blow on global corporations, such as Google and Facebook, which have made huge profits so far, by making use of their customers' information.