CST 373 Week 3

Scrapbook 3 - Should Google Be Held Responsible for Protecting User Privacy?

Judge OKs warrant to reveal who searched a crime victim’s name on Google by David Kravets of Ars Technica (PDF archive)

Summary

A victim of identity theft in Edina, Minnesota had nearly $30,000 stolen from his bank account by someone using his identity. They forged the victim's passport using a photo that appeared from the Google search engine when the victim's name was searched. The Edina Police Department initially sent Google a subpoena to gain user information details from the searches performed with the victim's name. Google rejected the subpoena and the Edina Police Department requested a warrant from the courts to access user information from Google. The courts granted the warrant. Google has indicated that they are fighting it.

Reason Chosen

This topic is particularly relevant to the discussions we're having in class. The warrant approved by the courts would provide the government with proprietary user data and the information requested by Google's users. This week in class we're discussing anonymity online and if governments should respect that privacy or require users to be tied to their government identities.

Ethical Implications and Personal and Social Values at Stake

The ethical implication that this case has is one where the government (or Edina Police) could breach the privacy of those utilizing the Google search engine. Additionally, it asks us to consider whether Google, a large U.S. company, should be responsible for protecting the privacy of its users. To protect themselves against any harm like this, a user could access a public unprotected computer, such as one at a library, but should that be necessary? If this were to become normal, would we see a trend to require users to input their government credentials to access search engines and other websites like this?

Many people utilize these search engines with the expectation that their search information will not be released to outside parties, like a government. If this were the expectation, we would expect any search performed to be held against us. Doing research for a paper may cause a student to search something completely morbid but with innocent intentions. This could result in unthinkable consequences. Incriminating cases, where completely innocent people become murder suspects due to their search queries, or similar (maybe not so extreme cases) could become more frequent.

Source Credibility

Ars Technica is a publication geared toward those interested in technology. It was started in the late 1990s and has become a trusted source for technology and related policy news. Ars Technica was acquired by Advance, the parent company of Conde Nast, in 2008 and has since expanded to the UK.

David Kravets is a Senior Editor at Ars Technica with previous experience as a Senior Staff Writer for Wired magazine, a Press Secretary for the California Department of Justice and Legal Affairs Writer for the Associated Press.