A senior Google executive issued new details today–and shared a letter sent to eight Congressmen, Jan. 30–in response to widespread concerns about Google’s plans to revise its privacy policy March 1.

Pablo Chavez, Google’s director for public policy, outlined what was changing at Google — “our privacy policies” — and what was not –“our privacy controls”– in a public policy blog posted Jan. 31.

Despite giving advanced notice to users — in contrast to numerous online services which have been known for explaining changes to privacy rules after the fact — Google nevertheless came under almost immediate attack when it revealed Jan. 24 that the company planned to fold more than 60 product-specific privacy policies into a single plan.

That raised concerns — and sparked a salvo of disparaging ads from competitor Microsoft — that Google’s ability to track users across all its products might put too much consumer information and power at Google’s disposal.

That led eight Congressmen, including California’s Henry Waxman (D), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, to ask Google to address nearly a dozen pointed questions (included in the letter) about how Google planned to gather, use, and protect such information.

Google’s letter in response provides a revealing window onto the national debate over privacy concerns in America, as well as a relatively rich, and well thought out, template for how those privacy policies ought to be considered.

Chavez makes clear in his blog what is and what’s not changing about Google’s privacy policy:

First, we’re trying to make them simpler and more understandable, which is something that lawmakers and regulators have asked technology companies to do. By folding more than 60 product-specific privacy policies into our main Google one, we’re explaining our privacy commitments to users of those products in 85% fewer words.

Second, we want to make our users’ experience seamless and easy by allowing more sharing of information among products when users are signed into their Google Accounts. In other words, we want to make more of your information available to you when you’re signed into Google services.

Some important things aren’t changing:

• We’re still keeping your private information private — we’re not changing the visibility of any information you have stored with Google.
• We’re still allowing you to do searches, watch videos on YouTube, get driving directions on Google Maps, and perform other tasks without signing into a Google Account.
• We’re still offering you choice and control through privacy tools like Google Dashboard and Ads Preferences Manager that help you understand and manage your data.
• We still won’t sell your personal information to advertisers.
• We’re still offering data liberation if you’d prefer to close your Google Account and take your data elsewhere.

While our privacy policies will change on March 1, our commitment to our privacy principles is as strong as ever.

Perhaps worth especially noting is Chavez’ point about the availability of Google’s privacy tools, most notably:

• Google Dashboard – which lets users view and manage what “Google knows about me;”
• Ads Preferences Manager – which lets users view and edit information that determine what ads users are served;
• Web History Controls – which lets users turn on or off Google’s recording device for remembering what you searched for (which is completely separate from your browser history);
• Incognito Mode – which lets users browse the Internet in a stealth mode; and
• Data Liberation – which provides access to a Google engineering team dedicated to making it easier for users to move their data in and out of Google products.

Part of the challenge for users and Congressmen alike is an appreciation for–and the confusion that often exists–over what users are actually opting in for. The new policy will require an all-or-nothing opt-in option–just as it does now– but then so do most services, such as Apple’s iTunes for instance.

And none of the new policies slated for March 1, as we reported last week, will affect Google Apps for Government and other Enterprise applications, according to Google’s Amit Singh, vice president, Google Enterprise. That goes specifically for:

• Gmail;
• Google Calendar (which syncs and shares calendar information);
• Google Docs (which lets users collaborate in real time without the need for attachments);
• Google Sites (which is used primarily for building simple websites and Intranet sites);
• Video (a sort of private YouTube service.)

All this may not calm the restiveness surrounding how Internet giants such as Google and others are making use of what we do and where we do it from via the Internet–especially with Congressmen looking for an opportunity to call attention to their technological prowess.

But Google deserves at least some credit for making their policies, if not their full intentions, transparent for users. As always, let the buyer beware.