Insanity. > -----Original Message----- > From: Gruss Gott [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 2:39 PM > To: CF-Community > Subject: Feds Subpoena Google > > Google Gets Subpoena > In Federal Porn Probe > Associated Press > January 19, 2006 1:37 p.m. > > The Bush administration, seeking to revive an online > pornography law struck down by the Supreme Court, has > subpoenaed Google Inc. for details on what its users have > been looking for through its popular search engine. > > Google has refused to comply with the subpoena, issued last > year, for a broad range of material from its databases, > including a request for one million random Web addresses and > records of all Google searches from any one-week period, > lawyers for the U.S. Justice Department said in papers filed > Wednesday in federal court in San Jose, Calif. > > Privacy advocates have been increasingly scrutinizing > Google's practices as the company expands its offerings to > include email, driving directions, photo-sharing, instant > messaging and Web journals. > > Although Google pledges to protect personal information, the > company's privacy policy says it complies with legal and > government requests. > Google also has no stated guidelines on how long it keeps > data, leading critics to warn that retention is potentially > forever given cheap storage costs. > > The government contends it needs the data to determine how > often pornography shows up in online searches as part of an > effort to revive an Internet child protection law that was > struck down two years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court on > free-speech grounds. > > The 1998 Child Online Protection Act would have required > adults to use access codes or other ways of registering > before they could see objectionable material online, and it > would have punished violators with fines up to $50,000 or > jail time. The high court ruled that technology such as > filtering software may better protect children. > > The matter is now before a federal court in Pennsylvania, and > the government wants the Google data to help argue that the > law is more effective than software in protecting children from porn. > > The Mountain View, Calif.-based company told the San Jose > Mercury News, which earlier reported the news, that it > opposes releasing the information because it would violate > the privacy rights of its users and would reveal company > trade secrets. > > Nicole Wong, an associate general counsel for Google, said > the company will fight the government's efforts "vigorously." > > "Google is not a party to this lawsuit, and the demand for > the information is overreaching," Ms. Wong said. > >
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