Yahoo has announced that it will no longer hold some personally identifiable search information for more than 90 days. The company is hoping that the new policy will give it a competitive advantage with users who care about privacy. It also is an encouraging development for the cause of Internet privacy.
Many users do not realize that search engines hold onto the words that they type, and the addresses of Web sites that they visit � often in ways that can be traced back to specific users. If you use Google, Yahoo or Microsoft search engines to find out more about cancer drugs, drug addiction or radical politics, the company may keep that information. And it may turn the data over to the government if presented with a valid subpoena.
Privacy advocates have long objected to these policies. In many cases, they argue, users have no idea that the information is being kept. Some of these advocates have been pushing, in Congress and at the state level, for Internet privacy laws that would limit data retention.
