Google ordered by a German court to change its terms on users’ data

Google Inc was ordered by a German court to change terms of service that could be interpreted to compromise a user's rights. On Monday the ruling was welcomed by a group that advocates consumer rights who took it as a victory for online transparency.

The suit was filed by the Federation of German Consumer Organizations who alleged that the terms of service for opening an account through Google Mail, Google Documents and other programs could be interpreted as giving the Internet search giant the right to review and even delete a user's information.

Having agreed with the complaint the court in Hamburg ruled that Google must eliminate ten clauses that could be interpreted to compromise users' rights to their own data from the terms of service as presented by the federation.

Meantime, Google stated that it removed the clauses, which it described "unfortunately framed," more than a year ago. Stefan Keuchel, a spokesperson for Google, said that when the court released its decision Google had already changed its terms.

"At no point were we allowed to look at private documents, edit them, delete them," Keuchel said. "The data users give to us belongs to the user."

Besides, Keuchel also stated that Google is reviewing its terms for German customers to see if further changes are necessary to comply with the ruling.