Google has both summarized and lengthened its published privacy policies, probably in response to continual murmurs of alarm—or, should I say, alarmism. The summary files are much friendlier to navigate than the fully stated policy, and Google helpfully breaks down the summaries by service: Google Talk, personalized home page, Desktop, Gmail, etc.. this repackaging of what amounts to a very standard privacy policy (as far as I can tell) won't assuage the fears of those threatened by Google. But I fail to see why Google gets disproportionate attention on this matter. I don't think Google knows more about me than Yahoo! does. Users have a clear choice. Enjoy the benefits of participating in a big, interactive, personalized online service, or don't. If Google is a threat to old-world privacy values, it is only because it is part of the Internet.
1. If you don't like commuting to your job every day in heavy traffic, then you should walk. Come on, you can do better than this.
Google, and yes, Yahoo and MSN, need to answer at least three crucial questions:
1) Google admits that your search terms are saved along with your unique cookie ID and your IP address, and a time/date stamp. However, they spin this by suggesting that it's merely part of the normal logging process. The question is this: To what extent does Google parse out and database this information for future reference and easy access?
2) Does Google have any data retention policies for various types of data, or do they keep it all forever?
3) On a country-by-country basis, how many requests does Google get from government officials for user information? We don't need names, but we need numbers, so that we can judge the comparative risks of using Google or other search engines for each country. China, for example, is riskier than the U.S., but even in the U.S. it's illegal for Google to disclose a request if it's a national security matter. However, they could reveal statistics if they wanted to.
Posted at 4:42AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Daniel Brandt