Google agreed a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over charges that it used deceptive tactics and violated its own privacy promises to consumers when it launched its social network, Google Buzz. Launched in 2010, Google Buzz created an automatic social network based on the contacts in the user's Gmail account. However users found it difficult to opt out of the system or change their settings so information on their contacts was not made public. Google received thousands of complaints, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center asked the FTC to investigate. The settlement bars the company from future privacy misrepresentations, requires it to implement a comprehensive privacy programme, and calls for regular, independent privacy audits for the next 20 years. Google acknowledged that Buzz "fell short of our usual standards for transparency and user control—letting our users and Google down". The company apologised to customers and said it was "100 percent focused" on ensuring its new privacy procedures protect the interests of all users going forward.
