Google Hindered by Tighter Data Protection in Europe

I've mentioned a few times in this blog that digital data protection regulations tend to be stricter in Europe. Many industries in the UK and elsewhere in the West are already requiring businesses to incorporate a comprehensive data management strategy into their yearly plans - often calling for extensive archival of digital communications and other such practices. Today I came across an article about Google's somewhat recent expansion into the EU, and some of the troubles they have faced in relation to stringent data protection laws.

You can follow the link for the entire article, but here's an interesting segment to give you a taste of the issue's they have run into.

"Data protection advisers to the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, are questioning Google over how long the company retains user logs -- the files containing an individuals queries typed into Google search fields. A panel of regulators wants Google, as well as Yahoo and Microsoft, to purge the records after six months.

Google says it needs the data for nine months to hone its search engine to reflect the constant changes in contextual meaning caused by news and events. Before October, Google retained the records for 18 months in the European Union. Yahoo keeps its records for 13 months and MSN, Microsoft's search service, for 18 months. So far, European officials are trying to persuade Google and the others to comply, but they have not ruled out asking the commission to intervene."