EU regulators ask Google to delay new privacy policy rollout

London -  European regulators have asked Internet search giant Google to delay the rollout of its new privacy policy, scheduled for March 1.

Google has planned to combine the 60 different privacy policies currently in force for its various services into a single document.

It had recently been promoting the changes with prominent adverts on its home page and whenever users logged in.

But in a letter to Google's chief executive Larry Page, Europe's 'Data Protection Working Party' asked the Internet firm to halt the introduction of its policy, until the EU can work out whether  it is in line with Europe's data protection laws, The Telegraph reports.

 "We call for a pause in the interests of ensuring that there can be no misunderstanding about Google's commitments to information rights of their users and EU citizens, until we have  completed our analysis," the group wrote.

The committee, however, gave no indication of how long it would like the pause to be.

A senior source at Google expressed surprise at the move, but noted that there was a month for the committee to examine its concerns.

The source also said that while the committee had no legal authority to require any delay, the tone of its letter was significantly less aggressive than those Google has received in the past.