Anti-Gmail Bill toned down
 

A California lawmaker has revised a proposal to block Google's new e-mail service, removing key provisions that would have have made it difficult or impossible for the Web search giant to operate Gmail in the state.

State Sen. Liz Figueroa (D-Fremont) late Tuesday put the finishing touches on the bill, SB 1822, in a bid to bring the measure to a vote in front of the full Senate before the Legislature recesses on Friday.

The bill was introduced a month ago, when it was heralded as a measure that would prevent Gmail from intruding on users' privacy.

Now, according to a draft seen by CNET News.com, the revised bill omits a provision that would have required Google to win the full and informed consent of non-Gmail users sending e-mail to the service--a hurdle that Gmail advocates widely assumed would be impossible to meet.

In addition, it explicitly allows e-mail and instant-messaging providers to scan the content of messages in order to deliver advertisements, as long as the providers meet certain restrictions on how the data is used. Information gleaned from e-mails cannot be retained, shared with a third party, or shown to any employee or other "natural person," the draft states. In addition, messaging providers must permanently delete messages at the request of customers.

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