In an effort to curb growing controversy, Google has posted a direct link to its privacy policies on its homepage.  Activist and "regulatory bodies" had accused the search giant of violating a California state law requiring commercial websites that collect personal information to post such a link.

For its part, Google insists that it puts a high priority on privacy, saying that "trust is the basis of everything we do." The company's corporate blog also explains that the homepage was tweaked in order to maintain a critical 28-word count. Privacy groups quickly praised Google's decision.