On Aug 25, 2005, at 8:57 PM, Technica Forensis wrote:
I don't understand the big fuss over google talk.
I think the fuss has to do with the 'Privacy' paragraph in the
terms of service:
"You agree that Google may access or disclose your personal
information, including the content of your communications" and
"Personal information collected by Google may be stored and processed
in the United States or any other country in which Google Inc. or its
agents maintain facilities"
Justin already made a good reply to this, but it's worth noting that
there was this in the Talk privacy policy:
The Google Talk software stores the most recent lines of your text
chats locally on your computer. Google Talk does not archive the
contents of your text or voice communications on Google's servers,
and we will not archive such contents on our servers without your
express permission and clear notification to all our users. We may
relay content for users in some cases. Google employees do not
access the content of any instant messages, voice transmissions, or
files you send or receive, except as described in this policy.
And farther down:
[...] we may record information about your usage of Google Talk,
such as when you use Google Talk, the size of your contact list and
the contacts you communicate with, and the frequency and size of
data transfers [...]
The only place I see the quote you posted ends in "...if Google is
required to do so in order to comply with any valid legal process or
governmental request." And I gotta tell you, I think AOL, MSN,
Yahoo!, ICQ, and probably every big Jabber server in existence has
the same policy. Even if they don't, of course, it doesn't mean
anything--if the Feds come to their door with a search warrant, they
can't well say, "Sorry dude. My privacy policy says I won't let you in."
I'm not trying to come off as a Google apologist (heaven forbid!),
but I really think the tinfoil hat types haven't been paying
attention. "Oh no! My personal information is on the Internets!"
Welcome to ten years ago.
Cheers,
Dan
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