Europe looks at Google's privacy rules

PARIS - European regulators have asked Google to clarify its new privacy policy and make it easier for users to opt out of data collection because of concerns that the Web giant may be gathering too much data and holding it too long.

France's data-protection agency led a European investigation into Google's new unified privacy policy, which replaces individual policies for its search, e-mail, and other services and regulates how it uses the personal data it collects. The policy allows Google to combine data collected from one person using its disparate services, from Gmail to YouTube.

That gives Google a powerful tool for targeting the user with advertising based on his or her interests and search history. Advertising is the main way the company makes its money.

The collection of data is not limited to people with accounts for Google applications. The Web giant can collect information from anyone who visits a website that has a link to its services - for example, a Google map posting.

The French agency, called the National Commission on Computing and Freedom, said that of the top 500 most-visited sites in France, 90 percent have a link with Google.

With that kind of power comes responsibility, the commission said.

It outlined three main concerns about the new policy: it's not clear enough in explaining to users what data is collected and how it will be used; it's too difficult for users to opt out of data collection and combination; and Google doesn't always say how long it will hold on to data.