Local class action complaint filed over Google Buzz , page 1

While browsing for news, i found this article about a complaint against Google and its new service in the Gmail client. This new service, called Google Buzz, as been added to many if not all accounts on Gmail.

Link to story

Here's an excerpt of the article:

A class action complaint filed in San Jose federal court against Google Inc. alleges that the controversial Google Buzz service shared personal data without the knowledge or consent of users.

The case was filed on Wednesday on behalf of Eva Hibnick, a Florida woman, by law firms in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. William Audet of Audet & Partners LLP in San Francisco declined to comment.

The filing is the latest in a string of criticisms generated by the Mountain View Internet giant's social networking tool, since it launched last week.

The feature allows users to post updates, videos, photos and links within its popular e-mail service in a manner similar to Facebook's News Feed. But privacy groups assailed the fact that users' "followers" were pre-selected based on those they frequently e-mail or chat with. Those people, in turn, could automatically see all the other followers, as well as photos and information shared in other Google products like Reader and Picasa.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

On a personal note, i have deleted that service from my google account. I do not wish to share to much information for all to see. Google said they would take the necessary steps to correct the problem. This story reminds me of the problems facebook had with Canadian laws on privacy.

Are any ATS members using this service?