Text 18649, 108 rader
Skriven 2007-06-10 14:17:12 av Gary Britt (1:379/45)
  Kommentar till text 18642 av RobertB (1:379/45)
Ärende: Re: Google's privacy practices worst?
=============================================
From: Gary Britt <garynospamplease@nls.net>

How could a company run by two arabs/muslims (aren't they ?) do evil when the
whole company was founded on the "First Do No Evil" premise??  Or maybe they
meant first do no evil to followers of muhammed and the hell with all the
infidel non-muhammed followers??

Gary

RobertB wrote:
> Yeah, I'm beginning to have my doubts about Google. Looks like they're
> not quite as benign as everyone assumed.
>
>
> In article <466c1540$1@w3.nls.net>,
>  "Rich Gauszka" <gauszka@dontspamhotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> --London-based Privacy International assigned Google its lowest possible
>> grade. The category is reserved for companies with "comprehensive consumer
>> surveillance and entrenched hostility to privacy."
>>
>> http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070609/D8PLHML80.html
>>
>> SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Google Inc.'s privacy practices are the worst among the
>> Internet's top destinations, according to a watchdog group seeking to
>> intensify the recent focus on how the online search leader handles personal
>> information about its users.
>>
>> In a report released Saturday, London-based Privacy International assigned
>> Google its lowest possible grade. The category is reserved for companies
>> with "comprehensive consumer surveillance and entrenched hostility to
>> privacy."
>>
>> None of the 22 other surveyed companies - a group that included Yahoo Inc. ,
>> Microsoft Corp. and AOL - sunk to that level, according to Privacy
>> International.
>>
>> While a number of other Internet companies have troubling policies, none
>> comes as close to Google to "achieving status as an endemic threat to
>> privacy," Privacy International said in an explanation of its findings.
>>
>> In a statement from one of its lawyers, Google said it aggressively protects
>> its users' privacy and stands behind its track record. In its most
>> conspicuous defense of user privacy, Google last year successfully fought a
>> U.S. Justice Department subpoena demanding to review millions of search
>> requests.
>>
>> "We are disappointed with Privacy International's report, which is based on
>> numerous inaccuracies and misunderstandings about our services," said Nicole
>> Wong, Google's deputy general counsel.
>>
>> "It's a shame that Privacy International decided to publish its report
>> before we had an opportunity to discuss our privacy practices with them."
>>
>> Privacy International contacted Google earlier this month, but didn't
>> receive a response, said Simon Davies, the group's director.
>>
>> The scathing report is just the latest strike aimed at Google's privacy
>> practices.
>>
>> An independent European panel recently opened an inquiry into whether
>> Google's policies abide by Europe's privacy rules.
>>
>> Meanwhile, three consumer groups in the United States are pressuring the
>> nation's regulators to make Google change some of its privacy policies as
>> part of its proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of online ad service
>> DoubleClick Inc., which also tracks Web surfers' behavior.
>>
>> The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is looking into antitrust concerns raised
>> by the DoubleClick deal, but has not indicated if privacy issues will be
>> part of the inquiry.
>>
>> Hoping to placate its critics, Google has pledged to begin erasing the
>> information about users' search requests within 18 to 24 months.
>>
>> The company says its stockpiles data to help its search engine better
>> understand its users so it can deliver more relevant results and
>> advertisements.
>>
>> As Google becomes more knowledgeable about the people relying on its search
>> engine and other free services, management hopes to develop more tools that
>> recommend activities and other pursuits that might appeal to individual
>> users.
>>
>> Privacy International is particularly troubled by Google's ability to match
>> data gathered by its search engine with information collected from other
>> services such as e-mail, instant messaging and maps.
>>
>> "Under the microscope, it turns out that Google is doing much more with our
>> data than we ever imagined," Davies said.
>>
>> Founded in 1990, Privacy International said it reached its preliminary
>> findings after spending the past six months reviewing Internet privacy
>> practices with the help of about 30 professors, mostly in the United States
>> and United Kingdom. The group plans to update the report in September.
>>
>> Seven of the Internet companies and Web sites included in Privacy
>> International's analysis received the second lowest grade of "substantial
>> and comprehensive privacy threats." This group included: Time Warner Inc.'s
>> AOL, Apple Inc. ,Facebook.com, Hi5.com, Reunion.com, Microsoft's Windows
>> Live Space and Yahoo.
>>
>> None of the companies or sites received Privacy International's top grade,
>> but five rated as "generally privacy-aware." They were: BBC, eBay Inc.
>> Last.fm, LiveJournal.com, and Wikipedia.com.

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