Google, the Government, & Privacy

First off, let me apologize for not writing in a LONG, LONG time. I’d like to use the excuse that I’m new to blogging, but I’d rather use the excuse that I’ve been ridiculously busy. Anyway, on to the topic of the day. I was recently browsing Digg and bumped into this article regarding a federal subpoena requiring Google to hand over data to the government, “…which include a request for one million random Web addresses and records of all Google searches from any one-week period…” Now that’s quite a broad, far-reaching request that the government has made, and Google is vigorously fighting the request.

A majority of the comments found on Digg regarding this article applauded Google’s stance against the “evil Bush Administration” and “Big Brother” government. Now, while I’m not supporting the broad nature of the request (I would agree with a more refined request, particularly if it means helping stop sick-bastard child porn mongers), I find it amusing that no-one recognized nor questioned Google having the data to begin with. After all, if the data was originator-agnostic, this wouldn’t be a problem. For anyone that doesn’t understand originator-agnostic, it means that they just store what was searched, and not where the search came from. The government’s request would not be a problem if the data could not be linked to search originators. The article fails to make the distinction between having and not having origination data, despite the fact that the government ”…needs the Google data to determine how often pornography shows up in online searches.” Based on this, satisfying the request would not need IP addresses, etc. so privacy would be maintained.

Now, anyone that has ever had any curiosity behind search engine privacy policies knows that they all contain clauses in their privacy policies regarding information aggregation, which includes storing your IP address along with any information you may have searched for. It seems that this practice would be the root of the problem and an invasion of privacy in and of itself. After all, search engines would be able to corroborate the information over time and know pretty much everything about you. However, as soon as the word “government” enters the picture, everyone breaks out their tin-foil hats and starts screaming “alien-mind reader ray beam is reading my mind!” What’s the deal with that? I would venture to say that (yes, even under this administration) the government has your well-being higher up on its priority list than any corporation would (after all, corporations are there to make money). 

As if this wasn’t enough, I’ll step out on a limb and say that Google is probably one of the worst violators of privacy. Google got where they are because their searches were better, period. It’s safe to bet that their data harvesting and gathering capabilities are better as well. Kudos to them for this (seriously). But I am thoroughly disappointed that the Google Homepage does not have a direct link to their privacy policy; you can find it everywhere except their search pages, strange, don’t ya think? This is an outrage.  All other search engines (including Yahoo! and *gasp* the evil empire) have direct references to their privacy policy from their homepages and search pages, allowing you to be informed of how they are invading your privacy. That’s more than Google can say. We all know the hissy-fit that would have been thrown if there wasn’t an immediate, explicit reference to a privacy policy on MSN Search. We also know how quickly the good ol’ ACLU would have sued if the government was doing what search engines do. Remember the NSA tracking cookie or the current issue revolving around domestic spying? Too bad search engine companies (and Google) know what you eat, what you read, who you’re classmates were, your political alignment, what car you drive, and anything else you have ever searched for. 

Before Google fights the government “vigorously,” they should take care of their dual personality disorder. So please, if you must complain, start with the search engines (and Google) that are tracking you, and make sure to aim your “anti-mind reader ray ray” at them. Google, this is an open request to clean up your act and at least meet the standards defined by Yahoo!, Microsoft, and other search engine companies that inform users how their privacy is being violated up front (Yes, I worded that in a fashion where if you in fact do add a link to your privacy policy, you have admitted that you are violating a users privacy by storing information about them). Cheers!