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Opinion/Op-Ed

Editorial Observer

WHAT GOOGLE SHOULD ROLL OUT NEXT: A PRIVACY UPGRADE
By Adam Cohen

New York Times
November 28, 2005

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/28/opinion/28mon4.html

At a North Carolina strangulation-murder trial this month, prosecutors announced an unusual piece of evidence: Google searches allegedly done by the defendant that included the words "neck" and "snap." The data were taken from the defendant's computer, prosecutors say. But it might have come directly from Google, which -- unbeknownst to many users -- keeps records of every search on its site, in ways that can be traced back to individuals.

Google is rolling out revolutionary new features at a blistering rate, most recently Google Base, which could evolve into a classified ad service, and the Google Book Search Library Project, which aims to put a vast number of books online. Google's stock recently soared past $400 a share, putting its market capitalization ahead of Time Warner and Gannett combined, and the personal fortunes of its founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, above $14 billion.

Google is the subject of a new book, The Google Story, by David Vise and Mark Malseed, that tracks the company's rise from a student project at Stanford through its success in outmaneuvering Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL, and other behemoths for Internet dominance. Google has long presented itself as the anti-Microsoft, a company that the digerati regard as a force for good in the technology world.

In many ways, it has lived up to that reputation. But if it wants to hold on to its corporate halo, Google should do a better job of including users in decisions about how their personal information is collected, stored, and shared.

Google has succeeded so extraordinarily because its founders were able to see the future of the Internet more clearly than the rest of Silicon Valley. At a time when "Web portals" -- sites that directed users to online services -- were seen as the future, Mr. Brin and Mr. Page were convinced Internet searches would be pivotal. They developed technology that was far better than other search engines at sifting through the galaxy of information online. They slapped a typo of a name on their project -- a misspelling of "googol," the number represented by a 1 followed by 100 zeroes -- got venture capital, and quickly built a company.

Mr. Brin and Mr. Page believed companies should not be able to get better placement on the results page by paying money, something their competitors allowed. Google strictly separated out "sponsored" results, or ads, from search results, and gave up untold millions of dollars in revenue by keeping Google's home page ad free. The company has taken other idealistic positions over its short lifetime, including conducting its initial public offering by a "Dutch auction," so Wall Street would not control it.

Google operates according to two core principles. One is its mission "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." The other is its motto, "Don't be evil," which Mr. Brin and Mr. Page take so seriously that they included it in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. As Google grows and spreads into new areas, these two principles are turning out to be in tension. Google's book search, for example, aims to make books universally accessible in a way some authors regard as dismissive of their rights and illegal.

The biggest area where Google's principles are likely to conflict is privacy. Google has been aggressive about collecting information about its users' activities online. It stores their search data, possibly forever, and puts "cookies" on their computers that make it possible to track those searches in a personally identifiable way -- cookies that do not expire until 2038. Its e-mail system, Gmail, scans the content of e-mail messages so relevant ads can be posted. Google's written privacy policy reserves the right to pool what it learns about users from their searches with what it learns from their e-mail messages, though Google says it won't do so. It also warns that users' personal information may be processed on computers located in other countries.

The government can gain access to Google's data storehouse simply by presenting a valid warrant or subpoena. Under the Patriot Act, Google may not be able to tell users when it hands over their searches or e-mail messages. If the federal government announced plans to directly collect the sort of data Google does, there would be an uproar -- in fact there was in 2003, when the Pentagon announced its Total Information Awareness program, which was quickly shut down.

In the early days of the Internet, privacy advocates argued that data should be collected on individuals only if they affirmatively agreed. But businesses like Google have largely succeeded in reversing the presumption. There is a privacy policy on the site, but many people don't read privacy policies. It is hard to believe most Google users know they have a cookie that expires in 2038, or have thought much about the government's ability to read their search history and stored e-mail messages without them knowing it.

Google says it needs the data it keeps to improve its technology, but it is doubtful it needs so much personally identifiable information. Of course, this sort of data is enormously valuable for marketing. The whole idea of "Don't be evil," though, is resisting lucrative business opportunities when they are wrong. Google should develop an overarching privacy theory that is as bold as its mission to make the world's information accessible -- one that can become a model for the online world. Google is not necessarily worse than other Internet companies when it comes to privacy. But it should be doing better.

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GOOGLE PRIVACY POLICY HIGHLIGHTS

Google Privacy Center
October 14, 2005

http://www.google.com/privacy.html

At Google we recognize that privacy is important. This document outlines the types of personal information we receive and collect when you use Google's services, as well as some of the steps we take to safeguard information. We hope this will help you make an informed decision about sharing personal information with us.

SCOPE

This notice offers highlights of the full Google Privacy Policy, which describes in detail the privacy practices that apply to Google's products, services and websites worldwide (collectively, Google's "services"). You can also get more information about the privacy practices for specific Google services in the navigation bar to the left of this notice.

PERSONAL INFORMATION AND OTHER DATA WE COLLECT

--Google collects personal information when you register for a Google service or otherwise voluntarily provide such information. We may combine personal information collected from you with information from other Google services or third parties to provide a better user experience, including customizing content for you.

--Google uses cookies and other technologies to enhance your online experience and to learn about how you use Google services in order to improve the quality of our services.

--Google's servers automatically record information when you visit our website or use some of our products, including the URL, IP address, browser type and language, and the date and time of your request.

--Read more in the full privacy policy.

USES

--We may use personal information to provide the services you've requested, including services that display customized content and advertising.

--We may also use personal information for auditing, research, and analysis to operate and improve Google technologies and services.

--We may share aggregated non-personal information with third parties outside of Google.

--When we use third parties to assist us in processing your personal information, we require that they comply with our Privacy Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.

--We may also share information with third parties in limited circumstances, including when complying with legal process, preventing fraud or imminent harm, and ensuring the security of our network and services.

--Google processes personal information on our servers in the United States of America and in other countries. In some cases, we process personal information on a server outside your own country.

--Read more in the full privacy policy.

YOUR CHOICES

--We offer you choices when we ask for personal information, whenever reasonably possible. You can find more information about your choices in the privacy notices or FAQs for specific services.

--You may decline to provide personal information to us and/or refuse cookies in your browser, although some of our features or services may not function properly as a result.

--We make good faith efforts to provide you access to your personal information upon request and to let you correct such data if it is inaccurate and delete it, when reasonably possible.

--Read more in the full privacy policy.

MORE INFORMATION

For information about specific Google services, please check the relevant privacy notice in the navigation bar to the left. Google is a member of the EU/US Safe Harbor Program.

For more information about our privacy practices, go to the full privacy policy. If you have additional questions, please contact us any time. Or write to us at:

Privacy Matters
c/o Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View CA 94043 (USA)