The original EU privacy probe

Under suspicion that Google's search engine may not be abiding by European privacy policies, a third-party EU panel has launched an investigation into the company's practices, according to Wired.

The panel consists of 28 members that advise the European Commission and EU governments on data protection issues. In a letter, they asked Google whether it is abiding by EU privacy policies, which are stricter than US-based ones. They also wanted to know how Google retains user information.

Peter Fleischer of Google's Global Privacy Counsel noted some details of user searches are logged for security purposes, but extra measures have been taken to improve privacy overall. Server logs are now anonymized after 18-24 months, making Google "the only leading search company to have taken this step publicly," according to Fleischer.

Google said it would respond to EU privacy concerns before the end of June, which is when the panel's next meeting takes place.