Feds Seek Google Records in Porn Probe

AP Via Yahoo ^ | 2006-01-19

[flashbunny]

The Bush administration, seeking to revive an online pornography law struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, has subpoenaed Google Inc. for details on what its users have been looking for through its popular search engine.

Google has refused to comply with the subpoena, issued last year, for a broad range of material from its databases, including a request for 1 million random Web addresses and records of all Google searches from any one-week period, lawyers for the U.S. Justice Department said in papers filed Wednesday in federal court in San Jose.

Privacy advocates have been increasingly scrutinizing Google's practices as the company expands its offerings to include e-mail, driving directions, photo-sharing, instant messaging and Web journals.

Although Google pledges to protect personal information, the company's privacy policy says it complies with legal and government requests. Google also has no stated guidelines on how long it keeps data, leading critics to warn that retention is potentially forever given cheap storage costs.

The government contends it needs the data to determine how often pornography shows up in online searches as part of an effort to revive an Internet child protection law that was struck down two years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court on free-speech grounds.

The 1998 Child Online Protection Act would have required adults to use access codes or other ways of registering before they could see objectionable material online, and it would have punished violators with fines up to $50,000 or jail time. The high court ruled that technology such as filtering software may better protect children.

The matter is now before a federal court in Pennsylvania, and the government wants the Google data to help argue that the law is more effective than software in protecting children from porn.

The Mountain View-based company told The San Jose Mercury News that it opposes releasing the information because it would violate the privacy rights of its users and would reveal company trade secrets.

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

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

[flashbunny]

I just want to know where he got is law degrees, so I can make fun of that university until the end of time.

[dirtboy]

Safeguarding morality and decency is a conservative value.

Using subpeona power to get statistical data from an organization not suspected of any wrongdoing should NOT be a conservative value.

[crz]

During the winter of 1792-93, Congress was investigating financial dealings of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury. He had made secret payments to James Reynolds, a convicted swindler whose release from prison had been allowed by the Treasury Department. Hamilton was forced to admit to members of Congress that he had made the payments, but characterized them as bribes to prevent public disclosure of adultery Hamilton had committed with Reynolds's wife, Maria. Those encounters occurred in Reynolds's bed while he was away and in Hamilton's bed while his wife was away. Paying for Reynolds' silence was only part of the cover-up. Hamilton had Mrs. Reynolds burn incriminating correspondence and promised to pay for the Reynolds' travel costs if they would get out of town. When the members of Congress, including future president James Monroe, heard the confession, they decided the matter was private, not public, and no impeachable offense had occurred. They conspired with Hamilton and among themselves to keep it all a secret. President Washington, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson (who hated Hamilton) and House minority leader James Madison were all aware of the confession but did not make it public. In 1797, a disgruntled former clerk of the House leaked the story to a muckraking journalist, and the whole nation heard about it. What was the result? In 1798, then-President Adams and former President Washington nominated Hamilton to be inspector general of the new U.S. Army, second in command to Washington himself. The other founding fathers still remained their respectful silence, and Hamilton was confirmed by the Senate. Directly quoting the historian who wrote the article, "In overlooking Hamilton's private sexual misconduct as well as his efforts to cover it up, the Founders were practicing what they preached at the Constitutional Convention when, on Sept. 8, 1787, members unanimously declared that, for purposes of impeachment, they intended 'high crimes and misdemeanors¹ to be 'actions against the United States'." http://www.civil-liberties.com --------------------------------------------- Then I guess per your arguement the founding fathers were immoral too?

[Antoninus]

thanks. can you tell me what the temperature was in taipai on march 23, 1953?

Nah, you seem plenty comfortable as a useful idiot.

[antiRepublicrat]

Of all the strange "crimes" that human beings have legislated out of nothing, "blasphemy"is the most amazing—with "obscenity" and "indecent exposure" fighting it out for second and third place. -- Lazarus Long (Robert Heinlein)

[Redcloak]

Wiping all porn off the internet would be a good start.

Speaking of "utopian"...

[crz]

I dont want the guberment ivolved with issues, I as a parent, should address myself.

Prohibition was tried and the result was the MOB.

[Spunky]

"I hope Google sticks to its guns and doesn't supply this."

My question is, why does Google need to keep record of every place we go when we do a Google search? I also heard/read they will also be keeping every e-mail sent through Google. WHY?

[Greek]

Child porn is not protected speech, any more than yelling fire in a crowded theatre is protected...or any more than snuff films are etc....anyone searching for Child porn, like those who commit any crime, have no expectation of privacy, so their searches are unprotected.

[flashbunny]

great comeback from someone posting comments completely irrelevant to the topic!

[steve-b]

Hamilton was forced to admit to members of Congress that he had made the payments, but characterized them as bribes to prevent public disclosure of adultery Hamilton had committed with Reynolds's wife, Maria. Those encounters occurred in Reynolds's bed while he was away and in Hamilton's bed while his wife was away.

I suppose that after paying the blackmail, Hamilton couldn't afford a hotel room.

[antiRepublicrat]

I guess you dont use parental controls on your PCs at home now do you?

Only fools or the ignorant trust those controls. Kids can get around them, they don't filter what they should, and they filter what they shouldn't.

When I start allowing my kids on the 'net, it will be through a proxy server I set up. It will cache everything. The kids will know their allowed boundaries and be expected to not exceed them. Violation results in a ban.

[NJ_gent]

"24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press."
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

This seems to conflict with what Communists do in practice. Look at China, where internet pornography is illegal.

[steve-b]

OK, that's three people who didn't read the original article. Anybody else want to help me keep score here?

[Antoninus]

What - that the executive feels they can just subpeona private data from an organization not suspected of any wrongdoing?

Answer me honestly: If and when a Democrat administration comes to power, do you think that Google will withhold this information so tenaciously?

I'll go even further: I posit that as we speak, employees at Google, Yahoo, and other web-search companies are being courted on a clandestine level by political dirty-tricksters keen to use their information to nail their political enemies. Remember Larry Flynt?

Any Republican/Conservative bent on a career in public politics would be wise to keep their noses out of porn sites all together.

In my opinion, pornography is a societal cancer needs to be aggressively taxed and regulated and/or banned on every level of government--and I'm normally a small government guy.

[WasDougsLamb]

which is the job of the parent, not government


-----I agree. Try to teach them right from wrong and hope what you teach them instills the values you want in your child even when they are not in your sight. That is all we as parents can do, is hope and pray for the best and that we have taught them well.

[Antoninus]

Morality cannot be successfully legislated or enforced.

Really? Is that why Thomas Jefferson signed a law as governor of Virginia making sodomy punishable by castration? Seems like the Sage of Monticello disagreed with you, pal.

[flashbunny]

"I'm normally a small government guy."

not any more you aren't.

Would you say the same thing for guns? Because a democratic adminisration would surely do it.

Would you support them using this same tactic to subpoena all gun sale records because they "want the info"?

Hell, if someone thinks it's a cancer, that's good enough reason to ignore the constitution!