NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] DOJ vs. Google battle over user data continues
DOJ vs. Google battle over user data continues
http://j.mp/17cArBp (CNET)
"A new lawsuit in Manhattan pitting the U.S. Department of Justice
against Google offers a rare glimpse of how determined prosecutors are
to defend a process that allows federal agents to gain warrantless
access to user records, and how committed the Mountain View, Calif.,
company is to defending its customers' privacy rights against what it
views as illegal requests."
- - -
Declan expresses considerable uncertainty about why Google has chosen
to take a stand in this case, as opposed to some other cases where it
has chosen to settle. Based only on my own speculation and with no
non-public info, I can proffer a possible explanation: The other cases
noted did not genuinely involve serious privacy issues involving
government access to user data (in addition to the fact that such NSLs
have been ruled unconstitutional in another recent case). Even the
cases involving Safari cookies and Buzz (as I discussed in detail when
those stories were current) are based essentially on exaggerated
allegations where no actual privacy damage was done to anyone at all.
And in fact, as Declan does note, Google stood up to DOJ's broad
demands for search logs -- a case where user privacy was clearly
involved. Such is the case with the current NSL situation, I suspect.
The odds are that genuine user privacy concerns are at issue, and that
alone -- apart from other possible factors -- could be enough for
Google to be quite appropriately fighting back in this situation.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
- Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
- Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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