Citing the recent launch of Google’s social-networking service, Google Buzz, outgoing Federal Trade Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour said technology companies are setting a dangerous precedent of publicly exposing consumer data, particularly during the rollout of new products.

“Protecting consumer privacy is of utmost importance,” Ms. Harbour said during a Federal Trade Commission roundtable discussion about privacy Wednesday, speaking via videoconference from Barcelona, Spain. “Unfortunately, many of the companies that consumers look to as leaders — and that we expect to be leaders — still have not taken this message entirely to heart.”

Ms. Harbour’s remarks started off the FTC discussion in Washington, where speakers are addressing privacy questions related to Internet architecture, health and sensitive information. The roundtable is the final in a series of discussions the FTC will use to make privacy-related recommendations.

The launch of Google Buzz was “irresponsible conduct” by a company considered “one of the greatest technology leaders of our time,” Ms. Harbour said, in making her remarks, which she said are her own and not the views of the FTC. Ms. Harbour is leaving the FTC on April 6.

Google introduced the social-networking service in February and was met with a wave of privacy complaints. Similar to Twitter and Facebook, Google Buzz allows users to share information, notes and comments with users they are connected to. But, unlike Twitter and Facebook, Google Buzz automatically signed users up to connect with other users based on email and chat contacts in Google’s Gmail. It also made that list of followers public by default. Google soon scrambled to tweak the service’s privacy settings.

Ms. Harbour said that social networking was barely a reality when Google introduced its email system and that consumers who signed up for the email service likely did not expect that their data would be used for social networking. When Google introduced a new service, consumers, not the company, should have decided whether or not to sign up for features that could expose their data, she said.

A Google spokesman said in a statement that user transparency and control are “top of mind” for the company. “When we realized that we’d unintentionally made many of our users unhappy, we moved quickly to make significant product improvements to address their concerns,” he said. “Our door is open to additional feedback and we’re continuing to make more improvements based on that feedback.”

Technology companies continue to launch new products under a problematic model: throwing the idea against the wall, seeing if it sticks, then pulling it back and addressing privacy concerns if needed, Ms. Harbour said. “Deeds speak louder than words, and this is turning into a dangerous game of ‘copycat’ behavior,” she said. “Unlike a lot of tech products, consumer privacy cannot be run in beta.”

Ms. Harbour also addressed the issue of data-security vulnerabilities, especially through services offered via “cloud computing,” a term for online applications. She said that while encryption technology is built into Web browsers, it often applies only to login information, such as user names and passwords. Other data are sent unencrypted. She said that the issue affects several email and social networking services.

The practice can expose consumers to risks when they connect to these cloud-based services from a public wireless network at a coffee shop or airport, for instance. Without the encryption, the user data can easily be intercepted, she said.

Privacy is a fundamental right that consumers still care about and have expectations for, Ms. Harbour said. Those norms do not change as technology evolves, and the stakes are growing as more information, such as genomic and public-health records, is made available, she said. Ms. Harbour cited recent comments from Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who said during an interview with CNBC, “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.”

Ms. Harbour said she could not disagree more with that assertion. “The Commission will continue to evaluate consumers’ preferences, and armed with these insights, I hope and expect that the Commission will continue to shape the conversation about the intrinsic value of privacy,” she said. “But make no mistake: The Commission will unfailingly step in to protect consumers where we believe the law has been violated, and that includes violations relating to privacy promises.”

A spokesman for Google said that the company cares about privacy, citing its creation of tools to help users understand and control information online and the improvements it continues to make to Buzz.

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