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daussaulit
Forgetful
Registered: 08/06/02
Posts: 2,894
Loc: Earth
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Bush wants google search records
#5198243 - 01/19/06 09:28 AM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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Feds after Google data
Quote:
The Bush administration on Wednesday asked a federal judge to order Google to turn over a broad range of material from its closely guarded databases.
The move is part of a government effort to revive an Internet child protection law struck down two years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court. The law was meant to punish online pornography sites that make their content accessible to minors. The government contends it needs the Google data to determine how often pornography shows up in online searches.
In court papers filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Justice Department lawyers revealed that Google has refused to comply with a subpoena issued last year for the records, which include a request for 1 million random Web addresses and records of all Google searches from any one-week period.
The Mountain View-based search and advertising giant opposes releasing the information on a variety of grounds, saying it would violate the privacy rights of its users and reveal company trade secrets, according to court documents.
Nicole Wong, an associate general counsel for Google, said the company will fight the government's effort ``vigorously.''
``Google is not a party to this lawsuit, and the demand for the information is overreaching,'' Wong said.
The case worries privacy advocates, given the vast amount of information Google and other search engines know about their users.
``This is exactly the kind of case that privacy advocates have long feared,'' said Ray Everett-Church, a South Bay privacy consultant. ``The idea that these massive databases are being thrown open to anyone with a court document is the worst-case scenario. If they lose this fight, consumers will think twice about letting Google deep into their lives.''
Everett-Church, who has consulted with Internet companies facing subpoenas, said Google could argue that releasing the information causes undue harm to its users' privacy.
``The government can't even claim that it's for national security,'' Everett-Church said. ``They're just using it to get the search engines to do their research for them in a way that compromises the civil liberties of other people.''
The government argues that it needs the information as it prepares to once again defend the constitutionality of the Child Online Protection Act in a federal court in Pennsylvania. The law was struck down in 2004 because it was too broad and could prevent adults from accessing legal porn sites.
However, the Supreme Court invited the government to either come up with a less drastic version of the law or go to trial to prove that the statute does not violate the First Amendment and is the only viable way to combat child porn.
As a result, government lawyers said in court papers they are developing a defense of the 1998 law based on the argument that it is far more effective than software filters in protecting children from porn. To back that claim, the government has subpoenaed search engines to develop a factual record of how often Web users encounter online porn and how Web searches turn up material they say is ``harmful to minors.''
The government indicated that other, unspecified search engines have agreed to release the information, but not Google.
``The production of those materials would be of significant assistance to the government's preparation of its defense of the constitutionality of this important statute,'' government lawyers wrote, noting that Google is the largest search engine.
Google has the largest share of U.S. Web searches with 46 percent, according to November 2005 figures from Nielsen//NetRatings. Yahoo is second with 23 percent, and MSN third with 11 percent.
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MisterMyco
Myco-fanatic
Registered: 12/08/05
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: daussaulit]
#5198465 - 01/19/06 10:34 AM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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Google should delete the logs. Un-fuckin-believable.
-------------------- "I have never, in all my life, not for one moment, been tempted toward religion of any kind. The fact is that I feel no spiritual void. I have my philosophy of life, which does not include any aspect of the supernatural." Isaac Asimov
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badchad
Mad Scientist
Registered: 03/02/05
Posts: 13,377
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: MisterMyco]
#5198877 - 01/19/06 01:04 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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Once again, this will only help eliminate the terrorists.
Don't worry, it's making you safer.
-------------------- ...the whole experience is (and is as) a profound piece of knowledge. It is an indellible experience; it is forever known. I have known myself in a way I doubt I would have ever occurred except as it did. Smith, P. Bull. Menninger Clinic (1959) 23:20-27; p. 27. ...most subjects find the experience valuable, some find it frightening, and many say that is it uniquely lovely. Osmond, H. Annals, NY Acad Science (1957) 66:418-434; p.436
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MisterMyco
Myco-fanatic
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: badchad]
#5198909 - 01/19/06 01:17 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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I feel safer already!
-------------------- "I have never, in all my life, not for one moment, been tempted toward religion of any kind. The fact is that I feel no spiritual void. I have my philosophy of life, which does not include any aspect of the supernatural." Isaac Asimov
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Darcho
PhysicallyDetermined
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: MisterMyco]
#5200232 - 01/19/06 08:02 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking/goog...7553742349.html
another article on the story.
This shit is just creeping into our lives. People can't stand for this.
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zorbman
blarrr
Registered: 06/04/04
Posts: 5,952
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: daussaulit]
#5201101 - 01/19/06 11:39 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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Yet another assault on privacy by the Bush administration.
Thanks for the info.
-------------------- “The crisis takes a much longer time coming than you think, and then it happens much faster than you would have thought.” -- Rudiger Dornbusch
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J4S0N
human
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: daussaulit]
#5201604 - 01/20/06 04:14 AM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/06/01/20/018211.shtml
MSN, AOL and Yahoo have all said yes to giving up their search records (so far atleast). They are just trying to get into everyones business anyway they can it seems. Maybe someday Osama and his henchmen will use goole maps to find a bomb site, then BAMM! they will be able to find him! woohoo, now I feel safer
-------------------- "The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media." ~ William Colby, Former Director, CIA
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Darcho
PhysicallyDetermined
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: J4S0N]
#5201982 - 01/20/06 08:41 AM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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Hmmm, MSN, AOL, and Yahoo you say? Thats sketchy. I wonder if our chat records will be included, for those who use the respective messenging systems.
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Falcon91Wolvrn03
Stranger
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: badchad]
#5202318 - 01/20/06 10:40 AM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
badchad said: Once again, this will only help eliminate the terrorists.
Don't worry, it's making you safer.
Exactly. Let's get the terrorists that surf porn!
-------------------- I am in a minority on the shroomery, as I frequently defend the opposing side when they have a point about something or when my side make believes something about them. I also attack my side if I think they're wrong. People here get very confused by that and think it means I prefer the other side.
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Mourningdove
Stranger
Registered: 11/24/05
Posts: 399
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Bush administration going after porn? That'll never work! What would the Republicans do without their porn?
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daussaulit
Forgetful
Registered: 08/06/02
Posts: 2,894
Loc: Earth
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: Darcho]
#5203324 - 01/20/06 03:32 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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http://www.sci-tech-today.com/news/Google-Resists-the-Feds/story.xhtml?story_id=11000CA51JTY
Quote:
Google is refusing to comply with a U.S. Department of Justice subpoena to provide the records of the searches that Web users ask it to carry out.
The Justice Department wants to use search records, compiled over a week, to see whether a law designed to protect minors from pornographic Web sites is effective.
The Justice Department first approached Google last summer, requesting access to the search-engine firm's records.
"We also approached Yahoo, MSN, and AOL," said Charles Miller, a spokesperson for the Justice Department. "They all complied with our request."
Filter Test
Miller said that the purpose of the requests to the companies was to enable the Justice Department to see what kind of searches people are conducting and what URLs they are accessing.
"We are concerned about whether the parental-control filters provided by antivirus programs are effective in blocking access to harmful-to-minor Web sites," he said.
"We will do a statistical analysis of the information provided by the search-engine companies to compare the effectiveness of filters in blocking access to pornographic Web sites as against the effectiveness of the Child Online Protection Act (COBA), which was passed into law in 1998."
Following Google's refusal to comply with the Justice Department request, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales filed papers with a federal judge in San Jose to enforce the order.
Nicole Wong, Google's associate general counsel, said in a statement issued by the search engine firm: "Google is not a party to this lawsuit and their (the Justice Department's) demand for information overreaches. We had lengthy discussions with them to try to resolve this, but were not able to and we intend to resist their motion vigorously."
Both Sides
Mukul Krishna, an analyst with Frost & Sullivan, said that there are two sides to the issue. "From the parents' point of view, they are naturally concerned that when their children are online doing their homework, they are not viewing unsuitable Web sites," he said.
"But if Google complies with the Justice Department's request, where will this stop?" he asked. "People took a long time to get accustomed to using the Internet for shopping and other activities like researching movies. If they feel Big Brother is watching them, they will be concerned. What if they accidentally get on a government watchlist because they have the same name as someone who is accessing online pornography?"
Krishna said that pornographic Web site operators seed their sites with standard search terms so that when people do Web searches, their sites will come up. "It is almost impossible to do an Internet search without a pornographic site appearing in the list somewhere down the line," he said.
"Suppose you do a search for 'investment banking.' I can guarantee that there will be porno sites that have included the term 'investment' on their site so that they appear on a Web search."
Krishna argued that one solution might be in forcing porn sites to use the domain suffix .xxx. "This would make it very clear that they are porno sites, and it would be easy for firewalls to block access to them," he said.
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole
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Posts: 81,741
Loc: Fractallife's gym
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: daussaulit]
#5203491 - 01/20/06 04:23 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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You all do realize that no searchers are at all to be identified, don't you? I know that there is no shortage of hysteria mongers out there but nobody's search habits are being identified. I can't blame Google for saying fuck you because it will cost them money to comply but nobody is going to be identified as a porn, or anything else, seeker.
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d33p
Welcome to Violence
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: daussaulit]
#5203883 - 01/20/06 06:27 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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Are there actually people out there searching google for "kiddy porn" and similar things? People amaze me.
-------------------- I'm a nihilist. Lets be friends. bang bang
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: d33p]
#5203948 - 01/20/06 06:51 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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It would not be unreasonable to search "kiddie porn" if you are writing a paper and want to find out how many piece of shit assholes have been arrested by the great Jeanine Pirro with her stings.
I reiterate, nobody is trying to identify the origin of the searchers
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Madtowntripper
Sun-Beams out of Cucumbers
Registered: 03/06/03
Posts: 21,287
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: zappaisgod]
#5204317 - 01/20/06 08:59 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
zappaisgod said: It would not be unreasonable to search "kiddie porn" if you are writing a paper and want to find out how many piece of shit assholes have been arrested by the great Jeanine Pirro with her stings.
I reiterate, nobody is trying to identify the origin of the searchers
Heh. You continually amaze me Zappa. I almost wonder what it would take for you to actually say "Okay, the government has now taken it one step too far."
-------------------- After one comes, through contact with it's administrators, no longer to cherish greatly the law as a remedy in abuses, then the bottle becomes a sovereign means of direct action. If you cannot throw it at least you can always drink out of it. - Ernest Hemingway If it is life that you feel you are missing I can tell you where to find it. In the law courts, in business, in government. There is nothing occurring in the streets. Nothing but a dumbshow composed of the helpless and the impotent. -Cormac MacCarthy He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God. - Aeschylus
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lysergicide
Aurora Borealis
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: Madtowntripper]
#5204388 - 01/20/06 09:19 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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I feel raped
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Sorted
Monkee
Registered: 12/26/98
Posts: 301
Loc: UK
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: zappaisgod]
#5205673 - 01/21/06 05:12 AM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
zappaisgod said: You all do realize that no searchers are at all to be identified, don't you? I know that there is no shortage of hysteria mongers out there but nobody's search habits are being identified.
Pft. "Google's servers automatically record information when you visit our website or use some of our products, including the URL, IP address, browser type and language, and the date and time of your request."
Linking search habits to people would be easy if they hadn't used some way to hide their real IP.
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: Sorted]
#5205726 - 01/21/06 06:58 AM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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That's not what the government is asking for. They just want bulk numbers, not any identities. If you can find a link where the government is asking for the search habits of any individuals in this subpeona let me know and I'll join you in your outrage. Absent that, save your dudgeon for something important, like all you poor dopes having to pay soc sec benefits to all us baby boomer geezers who are far too healthy and likely to live forever on your dime.
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Diploid
Cuban
Registered: 01/09/03
Posts: 19,274
Loc: Rabbit Hole
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: Madtowntripper]
#5205737 - 01/21/06 07:08 AM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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I reiterate, nobody is trying to identify the origin of the searchers
You fail to realize that some searches may include identifying information as part of the search string.
Example: an old friend I haven't seen in a while is looking for me. He Googles my name and last known address to see what comes up.
If my friend browsed Google immediately after reading something on overgrow.com, an overzealous government monitoring system might notice the referring URL (overgrow.com) and 'decide' that I'm associated with illegal drugs even if I'm not.
Edit: reply intended for zappaisgod
-------------------- Republican Values: 1) You can't get married to your spouse who is the same sex as you. 2) You can't have an abortion no matter how much you don't want a child. 3) You can't have a certain plant in your possession or you'll get locked up with a rapist and a murderer. 4) We need a smaller, less-intrusive government.
Edited by Diploid (01/21/06 07:46 AM)
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Learyfan
It's the psychedelic movement!
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: zappaisgod]
#5205780 - 01/21/06 07:43 AM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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I don't understand how knowing what people are searching for helps the government track down sexual predators.
Why don't they use some imagination and type in shit like "kiddy porn" or "child porn" or whatever? They'll find the sites that way, right?
-------------------- -------------------------------- Mp3 of the month: Sons Of Adam - Feathered Fish
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole
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Re: Bush wants google search records [Re: Learyfan]
#5205918 - 01/21/06 09:21 AM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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That's not what they're trying to do. (My mention of kiddie porn was a direct response to someone who was concerned that there could be no legitimate reason to search "kiddie porn"). What they are trying to ascertain is whether software filters are effective in preventing minors from viewing porn. I don't know how this info helps that either but they are trying to make an argument to reinstate a law struck down on the grounds that there were less intrusive methods (filters) to achieve a legitimate goal (stopping minors from viewing porn). The original law required some kind of registry to somehow prove adult status. They want this data to show the court that the filters are ineffective, which everybody here knows is true anyway.
I don't really care one way or the other about the law, don't think they will gain any personal information on anyone from this research, and note that the other search engines are complying. I think Google is grandstanding here and is probably more interested in avoiding the effort to comply and is afraid of giving up some secrets of their own
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=arCWSKEPoJaE&refer=top_world_news
" Yahoo
Mary Osako, a spokeswoman for Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo! Inc., said the company complied with the government inquiry on a ``limited basis,'' and didn't give the U.S. ``any personally identifiable information.''
``We are rigorous defenders of our users' privacy,'' Osako said. ``We did not provide any personal information in response to the Department of Justice's subpoena. In our opinion this is not a privacy issue.'' "
Overwrought handwringing, I think.
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