Debate:Google and individual privacy

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Is Google violating individual privacy ethical and legal standards?

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Background and Context of Debate:

Background partly from Criticism of Google:

Critics have pointed out the dangers and privacy implications of having a centrally-located, widely popular data warehouse of millions of Internet users' searches, and how under controversial existing U.S. law, Google can be forced to hand over all such information to the U.S. government. In early 2005, the United States Department of Justice filed a motion in federal court to force Google to comply with a subpoena for, "the text of each search string entered onto Google's search engine over a one-week period (absent any information identifying the person who entered such query)." Google fought the subpoena, due to concerns about users' privacy. In March 2006, the court ruled partially in Google's favor, recognizing the privacy implications of turning over search terms and refusing to grant access.

Some users believe the processing of email message content by Google's Gmail service goes beyond proper use. Google claims that mail sent to or from Gmail is never read by a human being beyond the account holder, and is only used to improve relevance of advertisements. Other popular email services such as Hotmail also scan incoming email to try to determine whether it is unsolicited spam email (which Gmail also does), but do not scan emails to improve relevancy of advertisements.

Google's online map service, "Street View" has been accused of taking pictures and coming too close inside people's private homes and/or people who walk down the street not knowing they are being watched on Google's service.

In its 2007 Consulation Report, Privacy International ranked Google as "Hostile to Privacy", its lowest rating on their report, making Google the only company in the list to achieve that ranking.

This debate discusses the issue of Privacy in Google.

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Is Google invading people's privacy?

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Yes

• Google can monitor all of its searches. With the Google toolbar, Google can not only monitor every Google search you make, but also every web page you visit. With gmail, they search your emails, and look for words so they can advertise specifically for you. Does anyone really want someone having this information about them stored on a computer somewhere?

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No

• People who don't use Google cannot be monitored by Google. Google does not violate individual privacy, because they are not a monopoly. There are other choices for internet searches and email. If you don't want the privacy issues, don't use Google, and there are no problems.

• Even though they have the power, Google doesn't monitor all searches. Google may have the power to look up and monitor all of the searches on it, but it doesn't use that power. Every day, millions of searches are made on Google. Google cannot possibly monitor them all and everyone's privacy is perfectly safe.

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Write Subquestion here...

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Yes

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No

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Write Subquestion here...

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Yes

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No

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References:

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