Posted on 01/26/2006 7:47:08 AM PST by SmithL
GOOGLE gives life to the Eric Hoffer observation, "People who bite the hand that feeds them usually lick the boot that kicks them."
Google painted itself as heroic in refusing to help the U.S. Department of Justice's efforts to reinstate a 1998 federal law on online child pornography, then revealed that it was going to help the Chinese government suppress free speech. That sort of goes against the company's informal corporate motto: "Don't be evil."
I realize how eager those in the Bay Area are to believe that the evil Bush administration wants to double as Big Brother and eavesdrop on well-meaning peaceniks. So it doesn't matter that the DOJ isn't looking for information on individual accounts -- but instead wanted data on how the Internet is used during a given week to see how adults access child porn.
Personally, I'd be more supportive of the Department of Justice's subpoena if the feds were trying to locate specific individuals -- child-porn-aholics -- just as I would support a government subpoena for bank accounts used to launder mob money. My issue with the subpoena -- and I agree with Google on this -- is that it asks for a huge chunk of information to support the government in a civil suit. It's a fishing expedition, in which corporate America provides free research. Yahoo and Microsoft, however, were able to comply. A Yahoo spokesperson said the company did not release personally identifiable information.
Care about privacy rights? Be it noted that child-porn on the Internet violates children's privacy rights.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I never use Google for my searches. I use Yahoo. While they're not better than Google regarding China, at least they're not Bush bashers.
GOOGLE - A TOOL FOR TYRANNY
Wrong on the facts. COPA was about children accessing regular pornography.
I agree with Deb but the issue is not google - it is communism and how they get their money and resources.
We give it to them.
This is our fault for giving away the farm and asking for nothing.
Don't blame google for our governments work.
I use Clusty for all my searches. It's even my default search engine in Firefox.
I couldn't care less about it's dealings with China. However, the US government was overstepping it's bounds by asking for ALL searches for a month's time period from various search engines. Cheers to Google for standing up for itself - note I said itself because we all know they're looking out for themselves rather than us. When Google balked, the government proved they were spoofing us when it caved so quickly asking for only a week (or was it dropped to a day?). Oh, and then the government had the nerve to demand Google to give them random site addresses - hello, what's so hard about typing in "child porn" themselves for ten times that many sites? And how is any of this going to find the sickos and stop them (that is IF they're not after the searchee's addresses)? The government also can not stop the business in other countries.
Bottom line, the government doesn't need any of this to simply pass/enforce a law against the already illegal business of child porn within the borders of the US.
Two different issues. One is a matter of upholding its commitment to preserve the privacy of its customers in accordance with the laws relevant to the U.S. and the other is an agreement to respect the laws China in order to operate at all within that venue.
Equating these to one another is a blatant obfuscation.
Use dogpile.com
Man...I sure wish there was another engine to take those arrogant meterosexuals running Google down.
I was already pissed over how they treated Christmas.
Are there not any conservative uber-tech heads?
later read
I'm a VB.Net guy... don't think I have the talent to write something like that though...
- plewis1250
Debra J. Saunders: Incompetent or Dishonest?
Thanks for the suggestion. Does Dogpile work in China?
>Thanks for the suggestion. Does Dogpile work in China?
Don't know about that.
But when google displays "global warming" or "world peace" graphic on its home page dogpile.com displays American flag and "support our troops".
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.