Google’s controversial privacy policy revamp was put into effect Thursday, although the Internet giant was under pressure from regulators and civic groups in Korea who voiced concerns over its plan to merge user data.

Under the new scheme, information from some 60 Google services such as its flagship search engine, Gmail and YouTube will be treated as a single trove of data.

The consolidation of private data has prompted privacy concerns globally, as it appears almost impossible to opt out of Google services and the data may be used for targeted advertising.

“We haven’t heard anything from Google in response to our suggestions sent to them to make improvements,” said Kim Kwang-su, director of the privacy protection and ethics division at the Korea Communications Commission.

Google dominates over 80 percent of the global search market, with nearly half of all smartphones using its Android mobile operating system.

Earlier this week, the KCC, the country’s media regulator, sent its recommendations to Google Korea, asking the U.S.-based firm to give contacts for users to lodge complaints involving privacy issues and state how long it will keep user information.

A consumer group named the Korean Council on the Protection of Personal Information also released a statement this week opposing Google’s merging of private data.

“Google will be able to gain access to more specific private information of individuals through the unified collection. This indicates that all Internet users may live under the supervision of a ‘big brother’ named Google,” it said.

“Google keeps on insisting that its collection of such private data is safe without providing us their exact position or package of measures on the issue.”

The global Internet company has come under pressure in several jurisdictions, with France also demanding it postpone its privacy policy change as it goes against European Union data protection rules.

A coalition of European and U.S. consumer advocacy groups also delivered a joint letter to Google chief Larry Page, demanding a delay in the implementation of policy changes.

“This move has been widely criticized by U.S. lawmakers, U.S. Attorneys General, European lawmakers, European privacy officials, technical experts, and privacy organizations,” said a letter sent by the Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue.

However, Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt said that the governments should not try to regulate technology but regulate outcomes during his keynote speech at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.

“There are so many technologies that would help protect privacy that you hope the privacy regulator would never restrict that,” he said. “The unintended cost of regulation is often the loss of innovation in markets.”

Pointing out that Europe has “a strong commitment to protect privacy,” he also said that the recent initiatives are well intended but hard to define.

“There’s a winner and a loser in regulatory battles. You would want to frame that correctly so people know what they are losing as well as what they’re winning,” said Schmidt.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)