EU to probe search companies
p2pnet.net news:- Google long ago had to relinquish its once-proud maxim Do No Evil.
It’s embroiled in a series of censorship scandals, and privacy advocates are becoming increasingly worried because it holds an enormous amount of private and personal information on people who use its services, or the services of mainly advertising companies it owns, or which are closely or distantly connected to it.
Fears have been expressed because its desktop search needs software implanted in users’ computers to function, and it was the only company to completely fail a six-month investigation into privacy practices employed by key Net-based companies.
Nonetheless, it recently decided it’s qualified to give world politicians advise.
Now a 28-member European Union panel, which advises the European Commission and EU governments on data protection issues, says it’s concerned over the retention of data not only by Google but also other companies who use them to, “deliver more relevant search results and advertising,” says Associated Press.
“Some fear the data could be targeted by hackers and governments.”
The working party, “will deal with search engines in general and scrutinize their activities from a data-protection point of view, because this issue affects an ever-growing number of users,” according to the story.
It says the panel also has asked Google to answer questions on the specific use of technologies used by it and other companies to collect “insights” about what sites people visit.
Also See:
completely fail – Google flunks major privacy study, June 11, 2007
decided it’s qualified – Google, world political force, June 19, 2007
Associated Press – EU data privacy adviser widens Google probe to all Internet search engines, June 21, 2007
If your Net access is blocked by government restrictions, try Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies. Go here for the official download, and here for details. And if you’re Chinese and you’re looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent web site blocking outside of China. Download it here.
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Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local politicians. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance. Don’t just complain. Do something!
