14/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - In Luxembourg on Wednesday, Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said that Google's decision to retain search traces for 18 months, rather than two years, was “a good step”. “I appreciate the commitment of Google,” he added. Recently, several groups have accused Google of infringements of privacy, by monitoring a huge quantity of personal data, an accusation supported by last month's acquisition of online advertising company DoubleClick, which uses cookies to track the pages visited by online surfers in order to better target them with personalised advertising. Google undertook to respond to the Article 29 Committee, responsible for data protection (see EUROPE 9433). (lc)