You can still browse anonymously on the internet and the perception that our emails are being spied is ”wrong”, says Fabio Coelho, Country Director of Google in Brazil.
The internet giant was among the companies criticized recently after reports published by British newspaper The Guardian – based on documents leaked by former CIA technician Edward Snowden which had revealed links between these companies and the surveillance scheme mounted by American security agency NSA.
In an interview with BBC Brazil, Coelho said the whatever Snowden‘s revelations are, the truth is that “there is no breach of privacy” in Google.
In Brazil, the topic is being discussed in Congress with the Marco Civil defense of the Internet, which deals with issues such as online privacy and removal of web content.
Check out the interview below:
BBC Brazil – There is a growing realization that Gmail, Google’s e-mail, do not have privacy. What I am writing in my e-mail is being read by someone without my consent?
Fábio Coelho – It is a wrong perception. Absolutely not. There is no breach of privacy in the Google platform.
BBC Brasi l – So why this perception?
Fábio Coelho – There is much misinformation and an attempt to bring the discussion to an issue that is not central. Logically Gmail is a huge platform, which has a huge user base, there is a concern that privacy terms are well known to everyone.
BBC Brazil – There is a concern in Google safeguard people’s privacy?
Fábio Coelho – One of the great assets of Google’s trust, and we will continue educating people regarding the privacy options available on our platform. (But), as all the subjects of the internet is a new subject, it is an ongoing process.
But Google has privacy policies very clear, and our goal is to bring it to light so people can know when they want to sail with certain elements that allow navigation turns into services and understanding of their habits or when they want to browse anonymous, which is also an option. When Google shares information on requests made by the government, we always release a transparency report.
BBC Brasil – Have you received requests from governments?
Fábio Coelho – Yes, the authorities have to make requests according to rules, with due process we provide the data to the government in serious cases.
BBC Brazil – Recently, Google Brazil denied in open court that has provided data to the American NSA. What can you tell us about that?
Fábio Coelho – What must be assessed is the amount of users that Google has, which are billions around the world. We have a trust (with the Internet users) that has lasted 15 years. It is a company concerned with the transparency of their data. But we can not discuss what is an agreement between the U.S. government and business (Google) American regarding disclosure.
BBC Brazil – The YouTube, the requests for removal of content have doubled, what can you tell us about that?
Fábio Coelho – We are in favor of freedom of expression with respect to the laws of the country but there are one hundred hours of YouTube (addition) content per minute. It is a liberating platform. The more we use, the more requests (for removing content) there. It is a platform with a billion users.
BBC Brazil – If I’m worried about my privacy online with Google, what should I do?
Fábio Coelho – you can be browse web without anyone noticing you. We have provided online safety settings for children as well.
(Following the interview, a spokesperson for Google said that these settings can be set in the Chrome browser link: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95464?hl=pt-BR.
BBC Brazil – What are the main growing products of Google in Brazil? We can observe trends?
Fábio Coelho – There are many, eg Android platform, since Brazil is one of the fastest growing markets in the use of smartphones in the world and YouTube, which represents the democratization of production and consumption of content produced by small, medium and large organizations or persons.
Brazil is one of the five largest markets in the world for YouTube and tends to be among the top three.
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