Startpage, a privacy-focused search engine based in the Netherlands, has added a new FAQ section to its website that answers questions about its recent ownership change.
Privacy One Group Ltd, which acquired a stake in the company, belongs to the advertising company System1. System1 describes itself as a company that uses “technology to make advertising better and safer, with parallel respect for consumers' private lives”.
The change raised many questions, as both Startpage and System1/Privacy One Group Ltd gave few explanations about the details of the agreement.
Startpage recently published an article on its website that attempts to answer some of these questions. The post aims to reassure users of the service that the deal will not have any impact on consumer privacy:
- The base of Startpage remains in the Netherlands/EU and the founders of Startpage will continue to manage the company.
- Startpage’s founders continue to have “control over all privacy practices.” The company states that “Startpage’s founders may unilaterally reject any technical changes that may negatively impact user privacy” and that “end users will be notified of any privacy-related changes.”
- The user's IP addresses will not be shared “with anyone”.
- The way ads are displayed has not changed.
- System1 holds a majority stake in Startpage.
- The “businesses” of System1 generally do not deal with creating or maintaining user profiles and store or process minimal user information.
- Privacy One Group Ltd is a company that is registered in Delaware.
However, this post leads to another question: why did System1/Privacy One Group Limited invest in Startpage? What is the advertising company's motive?
Startpage seeks to answer this question as well by providing a statement from President Michael Blend and CEO Ian Weingarten of System1.
According to the company's representatives, the investment was made:
... because we believe that Startpage serves a critical role in preserving consumers' private lives and we hope that our resources will help Startpage bring privacy to millions of new users worldwide.
The agreement, however, as we reported yesterday, was not made public, or rather, only part of it was made public. System1 did not appear from the beginning, and of course the explanations given by all the parties involved do not seem convincing.
