Everyday millions of people use Google to do just about anything. Two days ago I realized that I had lost my passport somewhere in my house. Realizing that my parents would be furious, I used Google to find out what I needed to do to replace my passport. I needed information on my parents, simple things like their date of birth, which I had pretty much no idea what year they were born in. By typing in their names, I was able to come up with all of the information that I needed. To find a picture of myself I searched in Google images which gave me links to photos that I was “tagged” in. Using my basic computer skills, I cut the photo down to the passport size and printed it. My final step to complete the paperwork was to show my citizenship, which I could use the copy of my lost passport that my father kept in his email, which was a safety net for my irresponsible ways. Even though I had his email password, I wondered how easy it would be for a hacker or a decent computer geek to get all of the information needed for a passport or anything else they would want. I have to thank Google in this instance since I avoided the responsibility talk and my mother ignoring me during Thanksgiving, but it is not difficult to see that Google has introduced a world where privacy is marginalized.
Google contains an array of tools for its users including: Google Desktop 3, Google Groups, Google Reader and Google Calendar. All of these tools, among others, diminish users’ privacy. Even if a user does not use these tools, Google still collects information about a user’s searches. Google keeps an eye on each user, and uses its information that it has collected to “personalize” your Google experience. By “personalize” Google would like us to believe that they are catering to you, but in reality Google is setting you up for the consumer world, while tracking your virtual movements using “cookies.” Cookies are used to track IP addresses and everything that a user doesn on the internet, and Google’s “cookies” do not even expire until 2038. Advertisers are drawn to Google because the “personalization” allows advertisements to be displayed according to the information that Google has gathered on a specific user, creating a perfect target audience for advertisers. This may seem great, a user only sees advertisements that are relevant to them, but on the flip side, this information has the possibility to be combined with spending habits and other information that Google may or may not have. Combining the vast amount of information that Google has built up for a person with other information such as medical and financial statements, tax returns, business records, present a serious issue. Would you search the same way if you had someone standing over you, watching you? Probably not.
Google Desktop 3 has hit the delete button on privacy. The concern of search information being combined with personal information is now a reality thanks to Google Desktop 3. This program extracts every detail of information from your personal computer and copies this information on to the Google system. It does allow a user to access content on multiple computers compiling your tax returns with a love letter you may have written. A user is able to search via Google for a document, email, or even web history to find what they are looking for. This may seem like a great feature, but then we must remember that the information doesn’t remain only on our computer. Google Desktop 3 compiles all of the data on an individual and stores it on its server. As the Electronic Frontier Foundation said, “Google can keep personal data on its servers for up to 30 days.”
With this sort of power and capability it is no wonder that the US Department of Justice is fighting Google for only one week’s worth of information. The Electronic Frontier Foundation said, “Google is battling US Department of Justice to force it to hand over data about what people are looking for.” While Google has not conceded the information, this debate exemplifies the issues with Google. The government wants to use this data and information that Google has collected, and eventually the government will get its hands on whatever it wants. While this data may be relevant in pedophile cases, is it fair for Google or the government to have its hands on all of your personal information? No, we are a country that is based on freedom and the right to privacy, something that is drastically being reduced.
For example, one year ago in a North Carolina strangulation-murder trial, prosecutors introduced a relatively new piece of evidence: “Google searches allegedly done by the defendant that included the words ‘neck’ and ‘snap.’” The data was claimed to be taken from the defendant’s computer, but it was unclear if it came from the computer or directly from Google. Although Google has its own privacy policy, it is possible through valid warrants or subpoena that Google turn over information that may be relevant in trials.
Gmail is another concern for the public in the privacy debate. Gmail is Google’s email, but with more power than any other email service. First of all, Gmail has a “content extraction” consent that their users agree to before creating their account. According to Google’s privacy policy, “We serve highly relevant ads and other information as part of the service using our unique content-targeting technology.” This means that they collect information from emails sent to Gmail accounts. As long as the Gmail users consent this is not a problem for them, but it does include emails that are sent to gmail accounts. Non-subscribers do not have a chance to consent or not consent to the “content extraction.” This means that data about other people and their emails sent to Gmail accounts can be monitored without their knowledge and a profile can be compiled about non-users of Gmail.
Second, Gmail offers its users indefinite storage of emails. This could sound good to anyone who doesn’t want to bother to delete an email, but this presents another problem with Gmail. Currently, Gmail says that it does not record the “concepts” extracted from e-mails that are saved by the system, but there is no requirement for Google to do this. The have the possibility to use information gathered in any email to create more in-depth profiles or to use the information in a negative way. Also after 180 Google decreases the security on Gmail data, making it much easier for a hacker, law enforcement or the government to access the information. This scary possibility may make Gmail easy to access by other people besides the user. Finally, Google states, “We reserve the right to transfer your personal information in the event of a transfer of ownership of Google, such as acquisition by or merger with another company.” This would allow Google to give up its data to a new company that may not value privacy at all, displaying the vast amount of information about users to the world. Google does not even require notice to its users if their policy is changed.
Gmail and Google Desktop 3 are just two of the many ways that Google has the ability to bypass privacy. Even Google acknowledges the privacy issues raised by its company, “We think this will be a very useful tool, but you will have to give up some of your privacy,” Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president of search products and user experience commenting on content extraction. Many questions have arisen in my research about Google and privacy. If we are able to use Google Desktop 3 to access information on another one of our computers, then how far off is the use of Google Desktop 3 to access other peoples’ information on other computers (aka Hacking)? How do we know that Google doesn’t use our personal profiles that they generate for other purposes? Can the government hack into Google? Is there a way for privacy to exist online, or should we learn that the internet is a public space?
References:
1.BBC "Privacy Fears Hit Google Search"
2. www.bigbruin.com/reviews05/article.php?item=googledesktop&file=1
3. NPR "Google Copies Your Hard Drive"
4. Concurring opinions - "Googles empire, privacy, and government access to personal data"
5. www.gmail-is-too-creepy.com
6. BBC "Government pays for online search"
7.NPR "Google fights request to turn over search records"
8. NPR "Search Engines Records and How They Can be Used"
9. www.epic.org "Gmail privacy facts"