The London-based campaign group, Privacy International, said it was worried about the consequences of such activities.
But Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, another consumer privacy group, also questioned Privacy International's unclear methodology.
"It's really designed to take the ability to stay anonymous away from consumers, " says David Banisar of Privacy International.
"I think Privacy International should feel remorse about walking right past several other companies to single out Google, " Cutts wrote.
Cutts' response isn't the first attempt to counter the Privacy International report.
According to a statement from the privacy group on Sunday, Google executives told "two European journalists" that Privacy International has ties to Microsoft.
Privacy International, an independent monitor, says Britain is the worst country in the European Union for respecting privacy, ranking it alongside Russia and Singapore internationally.
Privacy campaigners like Simon Davies of Privacy International say confusion over these issues could lead employers to behave illegally, and that the government's stance is wrong.
Simon Davies, of the pressure group, Privacy International, said the vast majority of people who contacted his organisation thinking their phones were tapped were probably wrong.
Matt Cutts, a senior software engineer for Google, responded to Privacy International in his blog, pointing out what seemed to be an unfair focus on Google.
Privacy campaigner Guy Hosein, from Privacy International, said police and other public authorities already had access to the information, and there was no need for new legislation.
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For customers who may unwittingly end up on police databases, cost is not the issue said the debate organiser Simon Davies, head of the lobby group, Privacy International.
Privacy International has launched a 'Know Your Data' campaign which calls on UK consumers to demand access to the records held on them by phone and internet firms.
Earlier this month the rights group Privacy International sued the British government over allegations that Gamma had illegally exported its surveillance technology an accusation the company has denied.
In 2007, Privacy International ranked Britain's privacy protections joint 43rd out of 47 countries surveyed - with the worst record in Europe, and only marginally better than Russia and China.
However, Simon Davies, a former senior visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and founder of the Privacy International watchdog, said Facebook's characterization lacked the subtlety of real-world interactions.
Over the weekend, Google's privacy record received its harshest criticism yet: A study by London-based Privacy International placed Google dead last in its rankings of online companies for user information protection.
Panelist Gus Hosein, executive director of Privacy International, said that biometric technology is being used extensively in the developing world by governments and relief agencies, including in refugee camps and for voter registration purposes.
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Privacy International denied that accusation in an open letter to Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, saying that Google's response stemmed from "sour grapes" and citing the privacy group's history of criticizing Microsoft policies.
"The information we hand over to companies like Google paints a detailed picture of who we are - from our political and religious views to our friendships, associations and locations, " said Privacy International's head of international advocacy, Carly Nyst.
Over the weekend, Google's (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) privacy record received its harshest criticism yet: A study by London-based Privacy International placed Google dead last in its rankings of online companies for user information protection.
Now, three civil liberty groups, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and Privacy International, have sent another letter to the Council of Europe outlining their "continuing concerns" over the wording of the treaty and saying that their fears have not been laid to rest.
Worse still, a privacy group called Privacy International has identified British, American, German and Israeli companies who are exporting spooky technologies like DPI hardware and equally sophisticated software products like "optical cyber solutions" that enable mass surveillance of large scale populations, to repressive regimes in the Middle East such as Yemen, Egypt, Syria and Iran.
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Their new book looks at how technology is reshaping the world on virtually every front, from personal privacy to international relations.
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Health privacy watchdog Patient Privacy Rights and Zogby International surveyed 2, 000 people, and found that almost all object to doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies sharing or selling their information without their consent.
Governments will find it hard to solve many of the problems the conference will discuss differing international rules on privacy, consumer protection and product liability, for instance.
Our goal is to make the common market for European goods and services more accessible to businesses and consumers, boost our economy and set an international standard for online privacy.
Mr. Binney developed a program for NSA called Thin Thread that was designed to capture international communications and had built-in features to protect the privacy of any domestic persons.
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Consumers who want to use such products can't expect to get them for free and have complete privacy, Loo Wee Teck, head of consumer electronics research for Euromonitor International, told tech blog ZDNet.
First they hear from a galaxy of experts and interest groups about e-crime issues including privacy and security on social networks, digital forensics, measuring the cost of e-crime and international cooperation.
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