Google vs. The Government

[Mr E Nigma]

http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/111

http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2006-01-21-n89.html

http://cooltech.iafrica.com/features/841464.htm

These are 3 links to different articles about the current Google vs. The Government case.

Recently the government has asked several search engines, mainly yahoo and msn, to send them search details. Keywords people use to search with, mainly "Porn."

The only search engine that has denied to acquiesce to these conditions is Google.

They have always maintained telling their searchers that they will not divulge any private information and believe statistics of search words is within that category.

The government is bringing google to court to try and force them into divulging this "sensitive" information all so they can find out how many times people look for porn...

I, personally, commend google for trying to maintain their standards and what they have told their enormous amount of customers...

What do you people think?

[Disfunction]

I support google in what they are doing.

[WolfMoon]

Yeah, first it's restricted access.

Next thing porn will be illegal.

Fucking wankers!

[Schneider]

Oooh, ya, let's support Google, they only help other governments repress their people AKA China. Ya, this search engine which trumpets rights for Americans also helps other people's rights be taken away, sorta hypocritical no?

Just a small and quick artical on the issue.

Google is da man! I like how they're standing up for our right to privacy.

What I hate is that the government is requesting these files in order to make porn illegal and shut down all these sites because kids could see them. What the government is NOT doing is spending money to try to strengthen the family so that parents wont let their kids search for shit like that.

It's the parents that need to keep their kids away from that stuff, not the internet.

[Saya]

I commend Google as well, but I'm curious as to why they won't give statistical information to the government, and yet it made an agreement with the Chinese to censor search items, like Tiannamen Square?

Because when you enter someone's country, it's good form to go the way they go. They did it out of respect for the Chinese government.

If the kids can't find porn on their parents computer,
then they'll just get it from the public Library(computers).

[Magpie_Tendencies]

Wouldn't the public library have the websites blocked, like schools?

I know(Around here anyway)they have some sites already blocked,and certain words are banned from search functions. But how could they block everything, without blocking the whole internet.

[UltraNEO*]

Two words.

"Bit Torrent"

I'm sure most kids know how to use this application.

Originally Posted by UltraNEO*

Two words.

"Bit Torrent"

I'm sure most kids know how to use this application.

Yaarrrr!!!!

[tenet_2012]

Damn and I thought that I was the only geek/nerd here.

[WolfMoon]

Originally Posted by GeishaGirl

Yaarrrr!!!!

Yo, Ho, Ho, and a bottle of rum!

[DarkIce]

Wired - a few decades ago the internet started to glow. Just some "inner circle" guys had access to computers. Then they started to connect them. More and more computers were hooked up to an ever growing network of silicone and dust. And now after the government realizes how it lost control over what´s spread via the internet it´s applying more and more pressure on companies (yeah, like GoGGle ;-) to regain control.
Brave new world. Really.
Even the data on this forum might one day be used against YOU - yes YOU! *shiver*

[Shi'ark]

The internet. Possible the one place on earth that freedom of speech really exists.
Why?
Because there is no control.

[DarkIce]

Because there is no control.

Shi`ark - you sure?

*Har-Har-Har*

[Shi'ark]

Originally Posted by DarkIce

Shi`ark - you sure?

*Har-Har-Har*

Oh great now you got me looking around all nervous.

[Godslayer Jillian]

You're all nervous??
That freaking eye of yours is looking directly into my soul!!

[Shi'ark]

Originally Posted by Godslayer Jillian

You're all nervous??
That freaking eye of yours is looking directly into my soul!!

Cool isn’t it, maybe I should sent it as a email to Gorge W Bush.

“Gorge this is God. Let the Geeks have their porn. Find something better for the government to do.”

[chloegoth]

Originally Posted by GeishaGirl

Because when you enter someone's country, it's good form to go the way they go. They did it out of respect for the Chinese government.

I was just gonna say that...

Also, Chinese society has been moving towards being more democratic, what with the rise of a new middle class and all. Personally, I think it was an excellent business move on the part of Google. Whether or not it was in keeping with American censorship standards.

[CptSternn]

First off, you know who the biggest importer of Chinese items is? Wal-Mart. So if Google is helping keep people down, then wal-mart is really a threat to democracy.

Things to know. BBC did a great show on China just the other day. They went on about wal-mart, google, and a few other topics. Know a few things about China -

1. They aren't as bad as they used to be, or as the US continually claims. Most Chinese people are quite happy and with all the business and technology there, they live quite well for the most part. The fact that they can even Google at all puts them light years ahead of many nations.

2. The Chinese ban on google is as effective as the ones companies and libraries use to filter as well. They just don't really work, and a dozen sites will allow you to get around them with little or no problems at all. Plus, this is the internet, just because one site is filtered doesn't mean an end to all human rights.

3. Wal-Mart hires underage and under paid workers. Well, they hire companies that hire sub-contractors that do. But no one says anything as the US loves it's Wal-Mart, so if a few dozen human rights violations take place while trying to fulfill the needs of an every dependant wal-mart culture, well, no one seems to care.

So I'm thinking this whole lets hate google because of thier China policy is kinda out there.

[CptSternn]

Got off on that China tangent and forgot to post my thoughts on the US vs Google issue.

Lets look at the patriot act and all those 'sneek and peek' warrants and warrantless phone taps bush has been using.

Of the hundreds of times those laws and acts were invoked, only 2% were terrorism related. This is the number from rummsfeld himself. I'll find the articles if you want, but I posted them a while back on here somewhere.

So, with bush out there trying to get 'random' samples to check for 'porn', well, I'm guessing they will be searching for other things. Lets face it, they said the patriot act wa to 'protect' the people from terrorism, but yet have used it 98% of the time to bypass constitution rights of Americans in common cases such as drug dealing and book making, crimes that are legal in other parts of the world, so they in reality have only used the laws to protect the people 2% of the time, the other 98% they used to strip their own citizens of their rights (look at the various DC drug gang trials and the Gotti book making trials - all thanks to warrantless wire taps and sneek and peek searches plus 'secret' evidence that cant be challenged).

And now the same group wants to search google, to stop child porn. Well, I'm not buying it. My guess is they will be searching for people typing in terms they feel might be bad (i.e. bomb, gun, etc) and will then be using those secret courts and no-warrant wire taps to go once again into the homes of Americans to see what they are up to.

The whole 'if your not doing anything wrong you have nothing to fear' argument is out the window. I mean, aren't you innocent until proven guilty? So why does the government need the power to search my home and tap my phone based merely on what I've been reading on the internet? If I'm a student I research a term paper on modern day topics like terrorism, why do I need government approval? Why should they be making sure my studies fall in line with their laws? Why does the government need to check library lists? This is the same kinda thing. Free speech, read what you want, but be aware we will be tracking your habits and if you look at information we feel is sensative we will focus personal attention on you as you might be a bad apple.

That is totalitarianism, thats what the US accused Russia of doing all through the cold war, thats what gw himself said he had to 'free the Iraqis' from, but yet he wants the same oppresive government over his own people.

Ironic, but yet scary. Well, if you live in the states that is.

[Disfunction]

Originally Posted by Schneider

Oooh, ya, let's support Google, they only help other governments repress their people AKA China. Ya, this search engine which trumpets rights for Americans also helps other people's rights be taken away, sorta hypocritical no?

Just a small and quick artical on the issue.

So you suppose that no search engine would be better than one which censors some?

Brilliant.

Whose rights are being taken away? You mean people who have never been exposed to the rights of which you speak? Ethnocentrism, much?

You can't look at the world from a singular perspective.

[Empty_Purple_Stars]

Originally Posted by CptSternn

First off, you know who the biggest importer of Chinese items is? Wal-Mart. So if Google is helping keep people down, then wal-mart is really a threat to democracy.

Things to know. BBC did a great show on China just the other day. They went on about wal-mart, google, and a few other topics. Know a few things about China -

1. They aren't as bad as they used to be, or as the US continually claims. Most Chinese people are quite happy and with all the business and technology there, they live quite well for the most part. The fact that they can even Google at all puts them light years ahead of many nations.

When they stop doing Involuntary Quinine Abortions and Burn every last fucking one of their Mobile Involuntary "Abortion" Vans, I will consider their human rights record has improved a tad.

Not to mention it is quite possible that we will cease the extinction of the Tibetan people in our children's lifetime because of the Chinese and their Eugenics policies..

And actually in my opinion, I think the US turns a blind eye to what is happening to women and children over there, and in Tibet.

It would be bad business to do otherwise.

The new Leader of China is about to visit Bush in the White House. I'd bet my last fucntioning Ovary that the issue of Forced Sterilization and Abortion doesn't even come up in conversation.

I think that there has been a subtle campaign the last few years, to convince the American people that the Chinese Government really isn't all that bad.

That's a slice of Propaganda I am not buying.