From BBCNews
The internet search engine Google is resisting efforts by the US Department of Justice to force it to hand over data about what people are looking for.
Google was asked for information on the types of query submitted over a week, and the websites included in its index.
The department wants the data to try to show in court it has the right approach in enforcing an online pornography law.
It says the order will not violate personal privacy, but Google says it is too broad and threatens trade secrets.
Privacy groups say any sample could reveal the identities of Google users indirectly. And they say the demand is a worrying precedent, because the government also wants to make more use of internet data for fighting crime and terrorism.
However, the Department of Justice has said that several of Google’s main competitors have already complied.
Act blocked
The department first issued a request for the data last August.
It wants:
- A list of terms entered into the search engine during an unspecified single week, potentially tens of millions of queries
- A million randomly selected web addresses from various Google databases.
The US government is seeking to defend the 1998 Child Online Protection Act, which has been blocked by the Supreme Court because of legal challenges over how it is enforced.
Google request fuels fears/
Google’s refusal to comply prompted US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to ask a federal judge in the state of California on Wednesday for an order to hand over the records.
But Google’s lawyers said it would fight the order.
“Google is not a party to this lawsuit and their demand for information overreaches,” associate general counsel Nicole Wong said in a written statement.
“We had lengthy discussions with them to try to resolve this, but were not able to, and we intend to resist their motion vigorously.”
Search decisions
Google has also said that providing the data would make its users think it was willing to reveal personal information about them, as well as giving competitors access to trade secrets.
One of its search rivals, Yahoo, said it had already complied with a similar government subpoena “on a limited basis and did not provide any personally identifiable information”.
And Microsoft said in a statement that it “works closely with law enforcement officials worldwide to assist them when requested”.
“It is our policy to respond to legal requests in a very responsive and timely manner in full compliance with applicable law,” it said.
What the Bush Administration really wants with Google’s search engine data…
The president and his cronies have finally been caught in a huge lie. If you think that they only want samples of search engine data to try and resurrect the Internet child porn (ban) law that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down, then think again.
Subpoenaing the major search engines for million hit size blocks of search request, result and metrics data is such a waste of time for trying to spot trends in porn search strings and results sets. There are many other ways to obtain information that could help them with the porn law issue.
The real purpose behind the Bush Administration’s subpoenas is that they really want to:
1. Spy on other branches of the U.S. Government and individual elected lawmakers.
2. Spy on governments of other countries.
3. Spy on citizens of other countries.
4. Profile search criteria and results to enable the Republican Party to react to negative trends quickly and prevent others from getting to the information first.
5. Profile search criteria and results to enable big business to squash small business and foreign competition by identifying search patterns for commercial goods and services.
6. Profile search criteria and results to identify web site databases which contain data that could impede the administration’s desire to engage in social engineering.
7. Find out who’s spying on the administration and stop them.
8. Impede freestyle blogging to prevent bloggers from digging up dirt on the Republican Party.
9. Identify objectionable information so that the government can censor information and manipulate the search process.
10. Change prevailing demographics.
11. Manipulate Wall Street by getting a peek at what investors are really looking for.
12. Increase revenue to the U.S. Treasury by identifying and determining which unknown activities should be taxed and regulated.
13. Identify blue state trends and thus deny citizens in those states, all of the benefits that would normally be available to all.
14. Suppress, prevent and prohibit the collection and storage of certain types of data.
15. Identify the source of searches for free satellite imagery, and anyone who conducts such a search, especially on the U.S., or on territories of U.S. Government interest.
This is just a sample of what the Bush Administration wants to do with search engine data it has no right to. Americans might be naive, but the whole world certainly isn’t.
Truth or Speculation? You be the judge.