Feds want Google search records (part of effort to revive an Internet child protection law)

Mercury News ^ | 1/18/06 | Howard Mintz

[NormsRevenge]

The Bush administration on Wednesday asked a federal judge to order Google to turn over a broad range of material from its closely guarded databases.

The move is part of a government effort to revive an Internet child protection law struck down two years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court. The law was meant to punish online pornography sites that make their content inaccessible to minors. The government contends it needs the Google data to determine how often pornography shows up in online searches.

In court papers filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Justice Department lawyers revealed that Google has refused to comply with a subpoena issued last year for the records, which include a request for one million random Web addresses and records of all Google searches from any one-week period.

The Mountain View-based search engine opposes releasing the information on a variety of grounds, saying it would violate the privacy rights of its users and reveal company trade secrets, according to court documents.

Nicole Wong, an associate general counsel for Google, said the company will fight the government's effort ``vigorously.''

``Google is not a party to this lawsuit, and the demand for the information is overreaching,'' Wong said.

The government argues that it needs the information as it prepares to once again defend the constitutionality of the Child Online Protection Act in a federal court in Pennsylvania. The law was struck down in 2004 because it was too broad and could prevent adults from accessing legal porn sites.

However, the Supreme Court invited the government to either come up with a less drastic version of the law or go to trial to prove that the statute does not violate the First Amendment and is the only viable way to combat child porn.

[1FASTGLOCK45]

Sirloin wrote:
I very much hope this fails for the government. This is like a pre-cognitive crime. "If you don't have anything to hide, why were you searching for the words 'girls tight dresses pigtails', hmm?"


---I guess this is why MJ fled the country. He was probably googling: " Boys tight dresses pigtails" hehehe. He didn't want the feds to have a second shot at him.

[Sirloin]

Here is a little snipped near the end of the full article:
The government indicated that other, unspecified search engines have agreed to release the information, but not Google.

Well, there goes Yahoo and MSN search. As soon as people realize that their searches are being handed over to the Feds, users of the other search portals will go to Google just retain their privacy.

Not to sound too alarmist, but what the hell is happening to this country?

[spetznaz]

Hey, this is 100% ok.

After all, we have ensured that our porous borders are now no longer permeable to illegals, we have also shut down all the various terror networks around the globe, we have solved all social security issues, national security is in tip-top shape, our dependence on foreign oil is basically negated etc etc etc ....goodness, every resident is even getting a gob of freshly-minted pixie dust to sprinkle on the soles of their shoes so as to fly like the lil' birdies.

Thus, since everything is taken care of, the government can go ahead and make Google turn over their records. After all this has to be given top priority .....it is for the children you know.

/Sarcasm

[Dallas59]

Just to throw this into the machinery....What does the "government" consider porn?

[Dallas59]

The "government" cares a lot about who searches for "girls tight dresses pigtails" on the net but could care less about "Hispanic girls tight dresses pigtails" crossing the border stuffed into tight, dark, sweaty, trunks of big, long trailer trucks...

[musprotzen]

"Hispanic girls tight dresses pigtails" crossing the border stuffed into tight, dark, sweaty, trunks of big, long trailer trucks...

Great visual first thing in the morning. I'm taking off early to go search Google.

[oblomov]

While they are at it, they can learn who is searching for...

"hiding weapons"
"bomb plans"
"hiding assets"
"limited government"
"Waco"
"corporatism"
"lost liberties"
"thoughtcrime"
"enumerated powers"

[HarmlessLovableFuzzball]

Google's response should be "If the Govt asked us nicely , maybe we could have thought about it. But now, they can F*** Off! ".

[HarmlessLovableFuzzball]

Well, there goes Yahoo and MSN search. As soon as people realize that their searches are being handed over to the Feds, users of the other search portals will go to Google just retain their privacy.

Hehehe..don't worry, they will go to Google regardless of anything else.

[BlackbirdSST]

While they are at it, they can learn who is searching for... "hiding weapons" "bomb plans" "hiding assets" "limited government" "Waco" "corporatism" "lost liberties" "thoughtcrime" "enumerated powers"

Anyone who thinks that the above examples aren't what they're digging for to begin with, is kidding themselves. Blackbird.

[old-ager]

> How would this help prosecute the internet sites that are hosted outside of this country?

Sooner or later the US will be firewalled. The "global community" is a dream of libertarian dope smokers.

[kbo]

I'm not sure where you're going with this comment, or if I understand your position on it.

Is this something you would endorse?

[kbo]

Right. I'm sure if they had just asked for advice on the best way to search out the site owners, they would have gotten cooperation. But to go in there and demand *all* search records is just not fair to Google or its users. Plus, it smells like there are ulterior motives or something.

I don't want to get alarmist either but it's pretty hard to just say - oh okay, track my searches, track my location through my cell phone or some device built into cars, let the NSA sift through all communications and if you happen to find some word in one of my messages that's on your list - just get a secret search warrant from FISA and eavesdrop on me...

They'd find it pretty boring, by the way, and I think they'd end up disappointed with my ordinary life. But still - I think you know what I'm saying.

[steve-b]

Heads need to roll for this. This bit of obnoxious Big Brotherism has critically, perhaps fatally, damaged the administration's credibility on surveillance issues. As a result, they're probably going to lose the arguments over warrantless wiretaps, Patriot Act renewal, etc.

[steve-b]

The government indicated that other, unspecified search engines have agreed to release the information

   ------
   |    |
   |    O
   |    |        M S _    S _ _ R _ H
   |  --
   |
   |
   |             J T L
   |
   |
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 -----

Hmmm... is there an "N"...?

[steve-b]

Besides, it the Feds want data about searches for porn, they can just pull up the old White House files -- surely Clinton didn't manage to erase everything....

[K-oneTexas]

Good point. Didn't the court just shut down France from forcing Google (I think) blocking their sites from Frenchmen?

I think that the court did not decide on the issue presented but on some other grounds. Confusing.

[af_vet_rr]

Absolutely right - the government seems to think they have a right to any and all data held by nongovernmental organizations. The allegation is not that they have done anything illigal - they just want to analyze Google's data to see who might have been doing something illegal.

Of course they think they have a right to it, and it's not that they are after people who might have been doing something illegal, they are after numbers - they want to be able to say "X amount of people searched for this term, and so therefore we need to have this law".

I didn't read through the thread yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are FReepers supporting the government on this.

They'll support the government, until they start thinking "what if the government pulls this off, then you might start getting gun-grabbing cities going after data about people doing searches on related terms, and they might try to narrow it down somehow to target those people as "persons of interest" or whatever you want to call them".

Anytime you see anything like this, it's best not to think of what the government says it's doing, but what it could potentially do in the future, and how it could be used against you, because if you don't look at the worst-case scenario, you won't realize it until it's too late.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

This is getting to be un-effing-believable. Does the government have nothing better to do?

[conserv13]

You, sir just made the Justice department watch list.

Congrats!