p2p news / p2pnet: An 18-page US Department of Justice brief argues Google’s objections to Cheney / Bush administration demands, "to examine millions of its users’ Internet search requests would violate privacy rights," are unwarranted, says the Associated Press.

"The brief was the Justice Department’s reply to arguments filed by Google last week," says the story. "Google has rebuffed the government’s demand to review a week of its search requests."

The Cheney / Bush administration is using the hoary Hollywood pornography stand-by as an excuse to mine the Google material.

"The department believes that the information will help revive an online child protection law that the Supreme Court has blocked," says AP. "By showing the wide variety of Web sites that people find through search engines, the government hopes to prove that Internet filters are not strong enough to prevent children from viewing pornography and other inappropriate material online."

"The filing included a declaration by Philip B. Stark, a statistics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who rejected the privacy concerns, noting the government specifically requested that Google remove any identifying information."

Google’s concerns are as likely to centre on bad the PR that would be generated if it handed the data over, and which in turn might impact advertising, as they are on user privacy issues.

Also See:
Associated Press – Justice Department responds to Google’s privacy concerns, February 25, 2006

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