Google, Justice Dept. face off on search/privacy issue
by Jon Swartz
USA TODAY
SAN FRANCISCO -- Google (GOOG) and the Justice Department will square off in federal court Tuesday in a seminal Internet privacy case that could touch millions of Americans.
The Bush administration is demanding the results of millions of searches on Google during a random week to buttress an online child-protection law blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court. Its reasoning: Internet filters don't properly shield kids from viewing pornography.
Google has resisted, citing competitive and privacy concerns, in a dispute that has escalated in a series of legal maneuvers since January. The American Civil Liberties Union says it will urge the court to reject the government's bid at a hearing in San Jose, Calif. A ruling could come on Tuesday.
Privacy advocates are worried Internet search engines could become tools for government snooping and spawn a wave of subpoenas by individuals against search engine companies.
More significantly, the case undercuts the basic Internet tenet of anonymity, says Evan Hendricks, editor of newsletter Privacy Times. If the government has its way, he says, the Internet could be used as a digital microscope to seek out people. A Justice Department spokesman had no comment.
In an 18-page court filing Feb. 24, Justice lawyers argued privacy rights would not be trampled because the information requested would not identify individuals or be traceable.
The brief includes a declaration by Philip Stark, a researcher and statistics professor at the University of California at Berkeley, who says the government specifically asked that Google remove any identifying information from the search requests.
AOL, Yahoo (YHOO) and Microsoft (MSFT) MSN are cooperating with the government. They say that their assistance is limited and that the privacy of their users has not been violated.
But as the largest and most influential search engine, Google has significantly more at stake. "This case will make it clear how much information is collected and stored on Google searches," says Paul Schiff Berman, an expert in cyberlaw at the University of Connecticut School of Law.
Berman and other legal experts say the consequences could be far-reaching for U.S. residents on several levels. The government might delve into the vast stores of Web-browsing data to look for individuals who are national security risks or engaged in criminal activity. Divorce lawyers also could subpoena search-engine providers for e-mail and browsing records to investigate the fidelity of a spouse.
"It creates a logistical problem for Google by putting it in the position of being an extension of law enforcement," Berman says. "Of course, because Google is mining data for commercial purposes, it could put an end to its troubles if it stopped collecting data."
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