Google sued over Buzz

Law firms in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. have filed a class action lawsuit against Google Inc, alleging that Google Buzz service shared personal data without the consent of users, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The suit has been filed on behalf of one Eva Hibnick from Florida – chosen to represent the proportion of 31.2 million Gmail users who are unhappy with Buzz.

Hibnick’s lawyers reportedly accuse Google of breaking laws in relation to legal communications with the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act alleged to have been contravened.

The lawsuit reportedly asks for an assurance that Google, which says it has not yet seen the lawsuit, will not repeat Buzz style actions in years to come.

Google has been reacting to privacy concerns in a series of blogs since the launch last week, including offering the option to turn Buzz off completely.