Righteous but well-meaning

Ask.com wrote an open letter to privacy advocates and the California Attorney General's office, toting a more prominent "Privacy" link on its website.

From the letter:

As of today, Ask.com has added a [prominently placed] direct link to our privacy policy … right on our homepage. It is only one of four non-search related weblinks … We’ve also made sure that the "Privacy" link appears on the landing pages across most of Ask’s verticals … which cover almost all of Ask’s search traffic.

A "Privacy" link was also added to Ask.com's "About" section.

Ask often uses the privacy woes of larger entities to promote its best practices. Last year, amidst media-fueled concerns about eroding privacy on search engines like Google, Ask.com launched Ask Eraser. The feature enables users to purge records of their queries.

The very public decision to make its privacy policy more prominent also comes at an opportune time. Users are increasingly concerned about the behavioral data gathered by ISPs about their surfing activity.

"No one required that we take any of these [privacy] steps," Ask plugged on, asserting "it's simply the right thing to do … for our users."

Ask concluded by admonishing "others in the search marketplace and online industry" to follow its example.

Read a complete version of the letter at Ask.com's blog.