OOPS.

According to a post on Google’s Official Blog at the time, Buzz was touted as a service that was built “right into Gmail, so you don’t have to peck out an entirely new set of friends from scratch… Buzz brings this network to the surface by automatically setting you up to follow the people you email with and chat with the most.”

And therein lies the problem… Almost immediately, Buzz was lambasted for taking huge liberties with Gmail users’ privacy. By default, the Gmail contacts of each new Buzz user were made publicly available in their Google profiles for the world to see. The Buzz-o-sphere even included “follow” links, which meant that any prying snoop could harvest the contact lists of other Buzz users as well.

Well, now we’ve learned that one of those who apparently got swept up in the Buzz privacy imbroglio was none other than Andrew McLaughlin, the controversial Deputy Chief Technology Officer in the Obama White House who was formerly Google’s top lobbyist.

McLaughlin works in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and is in charge of all Internet policy for the Administration. The two key components of OSTP’s mission are the creation of an “Open and Transparent Democracy”, and ironically, “Safeguarding the Privacy of Every American” by … “holding businesses accountable for violations of personal privacy.” (More on this in a moment.)

via » Google Buzz Privacy Flaw Snags Another Victim: White House Deputy CTO Andrew McLaughlin – Big Government.

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