Scary stuff and not for the faint of heart. Sorry!
"What Google Knows About You and Its Relationship with the Government
By: Ivan Strouchliak
Google knows your interests. It knows the news your read. It knows where you live. It knows where you went last weekend. It knows the videos you watch. It knows the web sites you visit. It knows the thoughts you had two years ago. This article explains why you should be concerned.
How does Google know all this? How anonymous is your data? Is this data being shared with the increasingly Big Brother-style government?
Those are the questions I'll answer, from my point of view. This is by no means the complete truth, but rather a curious analysis and observation of the largest Internet company and Western governments.
What Google Knows About You
What Google knows about you depends on the Google services you use. Below I list each Google service and the potential information it may be collecting about you from those services.
Search
This section includes: Google.com (and other country domains), Blog search, Book search, Product Search, Image Search, Code Search, Catalogs, Finance, Movies, Music, Video Search, News Search, Patent Search, Scholar, University Search, U.S. Government Search and other vertical Google search engines not listed here.
Google may keep: Each keyword query. Sites you click on, both natural and PPC. The amount of time you spend on each site. Address of the website.
Web History
Using one of my Google accounts, I decided to check what Google Web Historywas about and I stumbled over some very tough questions. I had never used the tool, yet after turning it on, Google showed me my entire history for the last two months! Shouldn't the history start only after I turn on the tool? Why did it track me for months?
It seems that when you sign up for the tool, Google simply gives you access to whatever it's tracking about you. When you opt out of the tool, you simply remove your own access to the information, while Google continues tracking.
Gmail
I think everyone has heard news of NSA spying on people's email and phone calls as an "anti-terrorist" measure. The US government also demanded user data from several torrent websites, which publicly refused to turn it over. Those sites were pressed further to share data.
My question, then, is this: does Google voluntarily share emails with the government?
There was an incident in which Google refused to share information with the government, but I'm still wary.
Google Desktop
Desktop scans and allows you to search your computer with Google-like quality (Microsoft Windows search is terrible). It scans ALL the files you have, including the contents of those files, such as Word documents and PDF files.
Google potentially knows of every file you have on your computer, if you use Google Desktop.
Picasa
Picasa now offers face recognition software, so if you have the latest version installed on your computer Google can potentially identify your face, and all the faces of your friends (there's some tagging involved, but one tag is enough).
British police uses face recognition software in London's CCTV network and can track your movements throughout the city. If you use the London tube and Oyster cards, the police know the stations at which you got on and off. London police can potentially map your entire day with minute precision. It makes 1984look like kindergarten.
What does Google do with this face recognition data? Does it collect and keep it, or is it just offered as a cool service? If it collects and keeps it, does it share it with the government?
I never see those questions raised in the search community and closing our eyes to this issue, labeling anyone who raises it a "conspiracy theorist" is plain ignorant. We know for a fact NSA listens to American citizen's phones and reads their e-mails; how do we know tech giants are not cooperating? Torrent sites got hit; it's a fair assumption that tech giants were asked for this information as well. How do we know they refused?
Google Maps and Google Earth
If you ever use Google Maps for directions, Google knows where you're going. If you use Google maps on a consistent basis for directions, and always have an exact "start address," then Google can potentially know where you live or work. It's not hard to implement this kind of algorithm:
If 7 out of 10 direction searches start with one address, then that address = your residence or a place where you spend a lot of time, like work.
You Tube and Google Video
Google knows the videos you watched and for which you searched. This, coupled with general search, can cue Google into your interests.
Google News
If you use this service, Google knows the news topics in which you're interested.
Google Toolbar and Google Chrome
Google Toolbar can potentially track all the sites you visit, the exact time you visit those sites, and the amount of time you spend on each site. It can also track visiting patterns, such as specific sites you regularly visit and read.
Microsoft's Browserankis based on user behavior data collected through Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Does Google track user behavior through Chrome?
After Chrome's release, there was a lot of gossip about Chrome's omnibox and how it sends data of every URL, every word and letter you type into it. Google then updated its privacy policy, stating it will anonymize dataafter 24 hours.
It's safe to assume that Google doesn't get browsing information through Chrome and their toolbar, but they could if they wanted to.
Google Notebook, Calendar, Reader
If you use Google Calendar, Google potentially knows your schedule.
If you use Google Reader, Google knows blogs and news you follow.
If you use Notebook, Google knows your notes. :)
On May 23, 2008 AOL leaked keyword data to the world, revealing its search query history data structure. AOL Search is powered by Google, so we can assume that Google uses a query data structure similar to AOL's, archiving:
Numerical user ID (including IP)
Each separate keyword query from user
Time query was requested
Web site that was clicked on
Though not included in the leaked AOL keywords, it's safe to say that Google (like all big search engines) tracks the time you spend on each site before hitting the back button, combined with all the sites you explore during each search session.
According to an LA times report, Google keeps this information for nine months and used to keep it for 18 months.
Bowing to pressure from privacy watchdogs and regulators, Google said that it would shorten how long it retains consumer data, making those records anonymous after nine months rather than 18.
What happens with this data after this point? Does it get deleted? I doubt it. Archived? If so... then how?
Like any corporation, Google plays the PR game, and these games aren't usually church confessions, but brand and mind-share management tools. I don't put much faith in official press releases; instead, I look for independent sources.
According to David Faber, director of the movie "Big Brother, Big Business," Google worked to exclude itself from a privacy bill in California, designed to better regulate commercial data brokers. This hints that Google wants to sell consumer data down the road, which is logical, as bad as it sounds.
Let's look a little further into its connection with the government.
Google and NASA
Before we get into legislature, let me mention the wonderful relationship Google enjoys with NASA, a government entity closely tied to the Pentagon.
NASA and Google have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that outlines plans for cooperation on a variety of areas, including large-scale data management, massively distributed computing, bio-info-nano convergence, and encouragement of the entrepreneurial space industry. - NASA
Google's privacy policy:
Privacy Policyapplies to all of the products, services and websites offered by Google Inc. or its subsidiaries or affiliated companies except DoubleClick (DoubleClick Privacy Policy) and Postini (Postini Privacy Policy); collectively, Google's "services."
Information we collect and how we use it (from the company's privacy policypage, but shortened).
Information you provide: Name, email, phone. "We may combine the information you submit under your account with information from other Google services or third parties in order to provide you with a better experience and to improve the quality of our services."
Cookies to uniquely identify you.
Log information - When you access Google services, our servers automatically record information that your browser sends whenever you visit a website. (this include keywords).
Links - basically the sites you visited with Google services.
We have a good faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of such information is reasonably necessary to (a) satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request, (b) enforce applicable Terms of Service, including investigation of potential violations thereof, (c) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues, or (d) protect against imminent harm to the rights, property or safety of Google, its users or the public as required or permitted by law.
All that is required for the government to access Google's data are the right laws and papers, which are already in place. Those laws are:
Patriot Act
Domestic Security Enhancement Actwith the following provisions:
Broad new authority to compel information from ISPs, friends, relatives, businesses and others, all without informing you.
Immunity for businesses that voluntarily turn over your information to law enforcement.
Extra punishment for the use of cryptography-- no connection to terrorism needed.
Instant police access to credit reports upon certification that they are sought "in connection with their duties" -- again, with no connection to terrorism needed.
Relaxed requirement of specificity for warrants for multi-use devices like PDAs and computers with telephonic capabilities.
DNA collected from all terrorism suspects/DNA database information open to all law enforcement.
Less judicial oversight of surveillance.
NOTE: Under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, the State alone decides who to proclaim a terrorist, without the need for evidence.
Military Commissions Actof 2006
How do we know tech giants aren't sharing information about you with the government?
....Under new "anti-terror" laws they are bound to...
Several times, Yahoo has given out the identities of bloggers who were critical of the Chinese dictatorship. What happened to them? Prison, torture, death...? Yahoo is bound to do so under the laws in China; what about Google, Microsoft and Yahoo in the US? With new "anti-terror" laws in the US, which effectively burned half of the US constitution, are tech companies, telecoms and cable companies sharing data about us with Big Brother?
I leave judgment to you, but judge based on facts, not popular opinion and FOX News."
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