I like Google a lot. I like that I can sit down and type “llama poetry” and actually find a Web site that is dedicated to all things llama poetry in .56 seconds. There is something comforting about that. However, I also like that no one else has to know. That is to say, tell no one.
But in case you weren’t aware, there are more insidious things floating around on the World Wide Web than haikus about ruminant mammals—child pornography, for example—and there are also many people who have much more important secrets to keep than I do, such as financial information and weird obsessions with finding their high school crushes.
And thus we begin to shed some light on why there is so much controversy surrounding Google, pornography and personal privacy these days.
The government currently requires public schools and libraries with internet access to use content-filtering software, but it knows, along with most PLNU students, that filters don’t really work. So, to do better, the Department of Justice wants Google to provide one million random Web addresses and a record of all searches sent through Google in a given week.
With this information, combined with the data it has already collected from Yahoo, Microsoft and America Online, the government hopes to discover where objectionable content is and how it is most often found.
But Google isn’t going to comply without fighting what it says will jeopardize vital trade secrets and consumers’ personal information.
I feel bad for Google, and for people who are afraid Big Brother is going to find out about their fascination with making pipe bombs for recreational purposes, but as keeper of the most popular search engine in the world, Google really is in a position to do something about the out-of-control porn industry.
The problem is that people are just too paranoid. It is unfortunate that this controversy should arise just weeks after The New York Times revealed that the Bush Administration had sidestepped Congress to conduct wiretaps without warrants. All of this has nervous bloggers running around in the streets crying “The PATRIOT Act Ate My Baby!”
But this isn’t about finding Osama bin Laden in your carry-on items. The government needs information if it is going to effectively protect children without infringing on free speech with software that doesn’t work, but Google has stocks, and shareholders get uncomfortable when online services share information with third parties for any reason. In this environment, Google is practically being forced to fight the government to protect business.
Consumers need to realize that they have to be willing to lose some of their of privacy if they really want safety, and if that means a bureaucrat somewhere might find out that I admire the expressive nature of llamas, so be it.
3 comments:
It's more a matter of the principle of actually losing your privacy. I understand the issue of pornography is a gray area here, and I don't think there are many descent people that have much of an argument against that, but the problem is that the government is going to be handed more control and our country is not built on that formula. If the People don't want Big Brother looking into what they're into on the net, phone, lettters, books, etc. then they should have a very powerful voice of opposition. It's better for our country in the long run.
Sincerely,
D.Y.R.W.I
Recovering llama porn addict
The point is that Google is holding on to that ever-infamous phrase from Rage Against the Machine "F*** you, I won't do what should be that if I don't do what they tell me, they'll figure out how else they can assomplish their goal and take care of it that way. Who cares about the Patriot Act, Big Brother, the Telescreen, or Room 101; the fact is, if people don't stop caring about and crying for themselves and start taking care of the "orphans and widows" as one psalmist put it, our nation will never get past the 230 year slump of capitalism and "lift yourself by your boot-strap mentality."
Hey, we all have to give up a little so-called "freedom" if we want to live in a decent society. I don't mind having my privacy invaded somewhat, and I definitely want the privacy of my kids invaded so that I can make sure they're safe, especially at school. The founding fathers knew nothing of the Internet, pornography, Amber alerts, and so on. I think we as a society have completely perverted the original intent of having a "free" country. That's the problem we have today. People think they are OWED certain freedoms. Well, shouldn't we really have to earn them?
As for personal loss of privacy, people argue against a national ID card, but folks... you've missed the boat already! What do you think your social security card is? It's not so you can get benefits when you retire, because that money will be long gone by then. A person can find out MANY things about you through your ss#. Maybe even what kind of drawers you're wearing right now. Seriously, people. If we're all "free" to a radical extent, we're none of us truly safe. Think about it.
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