Will Google become "Big Brother"?
The Privacy Concerns You Need to Know
by www.SixWise.com
Every time you search for something using Google, that search
term gets recorded. It also gets linked to your personal computer
(or the computer you used to search for the term) via an IP
address. Every individual computer that accesses the Internet
has one.
|
Who's keeping tabs on your Internet habits? More people
than you may think.
|
Along with your search terms, Web sites you visit are also
recorded, as is other information about your searches, particularly
if you sign in or register for anything. How? Through small
text files called "cookies" that are placed on your
computer anytime you visit a search engine like Google (or
many other Web sites, for that matter). With cookies, your
browsing habits and personal information can potentially be
collected.
The concern is not that Google is collecting this information,
but what it could potentially do with it. Already, the company
must hand over data for search warrants, subpoenas or other
legal orders.
"The prospect of unlimited data retention creates a
honey pot for law enforcement," said Chris Hoofnagle
of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
Beyond legal matters, though, questions are being raised
that this wealth of data -- your name, e-mail address, birth
date, gender, shopping habits, sexual preferences, health,
religion, finances, interests and more -- could be misused.
What Else Can Google Find Out About You?
Plenty. If you use Gmail, Google's Web-based e-mail service,
you've probably taken advantage of its two gigabytes of free
online storage. But did you know that Google scans the content
of your e-mails to tailor advertisements to their contexts?
And, although the messages can be deleted, it's a complicated
process that can take an undetermined amount of time to actually
disappear from all of Google's servers.
Meanwhile, Google recently announced its intentions to acquire
online advertiser DoubleClick, which helps customize search
and other online ads, for $3.1 billion. The merger is being
investigated by the Federal Trade Commission and Congress
because of potential threats to privacy and competition among
online advertisers.
Consumer groups have expressed concern that the combined
company would give Google access to an "unprecedented
amount of data about consumers' Web usage and Internet search
preferences," according to MSNBC.
Perhaps because of rising consumer concerns about Google's
respect for privacy, the company has agreed to shorten the
lifespan of their cookies. After two years, the information
contained in the cookies will automatically expire. Previously
the information remained on file until 2038.
|
"Before you Google for something, think about
whether you want that on your permanent record,"
says Kevin Bankston, staff attorney at the Electronic
Frontier Foundation.
|
However, every time you visit Google, the two-year period
gets automatically extended, meaning the cookies could theoretically
never expire if you visit Google often.
Is Google Big Brother?
To be fair, all of the privacy concerns are just speculations
at this point. Google has yet to do anything wrong with the
data at their fingertips.
Still, privacy advocates view it as a ticking time-bomb just
waiting to fall into the wrong hands.
What can you do if Google's potential to create "some
of the most detailed individual profiles ever devised,"
according to Kevin Bankston, staff attorney at the Electronic
Frontier Foundation, makes you a little hot under the collar?
First, don't register for Google services or any other online
form that asks for personal information (this would also include
social
online sites like MySpace). Then, you can find an anonymizing
proxy network, which sends Internet communication through
an encryption and decryption process so that the original
destination cannot be traced.
"Your search history shows your associations, beliefs,
perhaps your medical problems. The things you Google for define
you," Bankston says. "Before you Google for something,
think about whether you want that on your permanent record.
If not, don't Google, or take steps so the search can't be
tied back to you."
Recommended Reading
Workplace
Privacy? Here is Why You Now Have NONE
Did
You Know that Anyone Can Easily Access Your Cell Phone Records?
Sources
MSNBC.com
July 19, 2007
CnetNews.com
World
Advertising Research Center