It's about time.

I think that Google certainly has a case against the government because unless this article is leaving something out - MSN, AOL and other providers should equally comply.

I'm assuming that the information that is being discussed would be in things such as GMail as almost every other bit of info is public ... except perhaps logged IP addresses of possible offenders.

My server was used in a Phishing Scam that was routing credit card information to both a GMail and Hotmail account. I contacted both GMail and Hotmail about this as I'm a server admin and had the address in my maillogs... neither site cared and stated that investigating this would go against their privacy policy. What the ****?

I think that Google and MSN and possibly Yahoo! may suck on investigating claims like this which IS FBI business (I contacted the FBI also), but it should be their responsibility to investigate such things to the government.

Complying with the government or possibly being government contractors themselves for investigating information that they have gathered would be a positive thing as I certainly don't have sympathy for people using Google and other services for the use of child pornography or illegal activities.

And yes, this means file trading with those services would be a bad idea, but you know what - big deal. I'd rather see government cooperation to get rid of some evil people at the risk of some irresponsible pirates getting in trouble.

What I love is that the NSA/FBI love to claim that they can intercept stuff on the net. They should just use their magic interception skills on this stuff =)

I think Google has to fight with it´s last resources to block the government. I think Bush administration wants to get all this information to do something else...

If they rewrite the amendments, the gov limit websites we go to.
Because they are allowed to do so, they would limit people from going to sites that is against the government, sooner or later.

My point is, if they take one freedom away, they are going to take another and another and another until we end up with no freedom.

We should be jealous of priviledge right now so that the gov wouldn't take them away.

And who knows if gov want this information for other purposes such as anti-Bush

I think this is outrageous. This is MY tax money that they are spending to get this information, I want MY money back!

Filters are much better protection than the stupid credit card check. Besides, your cards can be stolen - by kids, and would be more likely stolen if this dumb idea was implemented. I want to protect kids as well, but I don't think that stupid bill did anything more than restrict EVERY adults rights and bring the internet's content down to a G-Rated movie. Filters are a better answer.

I am so sick of this administration, and I am to blame for voting this guy in. Why couldn't the dems come up with something better than Kerry, someone I 'could' vote for?

I'm voting Independent next time, and those that say that vote doesn't count, aren't reading the headlines, cause Dems and Reps are absolutely equally B-A-D!!!

I'm so thankful to hear your attitude. I voted independent last year becuase I didn't want to be responsible for another 4 years of Bush either, but neither could I vote for Kerry. Almost all my friends and family disowned me for "throwing away my vote", but I agree, there's no difference between the two major parties anymore. They are two wings of the same bird flying the wrong direction.

Prez. Bush-Whacky obviously thinks he is a king.

"Oh, there's a Bill of Rights?"

"And a Constitution, too?!"

(And I trust all here are too intelligent to fall for that protecting children load of crap. This all sounds a lot like, "He has WMDs!")

Sure does...

Completely OT, but...

You'd better believe Saddam had WMDs. It's not Bush's fault the U.N. gave him forever and a day to dispose of them out in the desert somewhere.

"And I trust all here are too intelligent to fall for that protecting children load of crap"

Yeah... that's what it is. Intelligence. Sure...

There is no saying if the us government plans on including overseas search results as well.
I find it very annoying that, that george jnr is trying to bandaid everything up.
what happened to people having privacy, looks like yet another phone tapping job here.
Cant wait for george jnr to get the flick.

I have had just about enough of this s***! Every day something new comes out about how the government is WATCHING US. RFID chips, satellite, tapping phones,looking at credit card statements, and last but not least; our computers. LAND OF THE FREE!!!
yea, right

It will not be LAND OF THE FREE until you wake up and realize your rights. What do you do? Are you reading any legal information? How informed are you of the country's laws? Having studied a bit as a hobby have really opened my eyes. Educate yourself, until then, you'll never be free.

Thats why I said yea right. Educating yourself is only half the battle, the other is actually doing something about it. The only way we can set things right is by using our voices and say enough is enough. Will we bring back propaganda movies and commercials next? Our we can take a page out of some peoples book and start a riot!

"Our we can take a page out of some peoples book and start a riot!"

That's a dangerous proposition. I wouldn't recommend using those words so lightly.

There is a technological solution to this already.

Download.com lists over sixty third-party parental filters.

OS X 10.4 has parental filters.

Vista will have parental filters.

I prefer the Republicans of yore who encouraged personal and parental responsibility rather than a bubble-wrapped Nanny State.

Amen brother!

Leave it to the government to want to mess things up, which they are good at. I say google should fight them all the way and the other search engines should be disclosed to the companies and the public. this is the governments usual way of bulling people and shoving their weight around...

Let the people decide if they want their imformation handed over to the government to be used against them. Our government is greedy, power hungry, contol freaks...

I'm behind Google 200% of the way. I personally don't want my info released without my concent...

This is textbook example in abuse of power, and yet-another suppositious effort on the part of our government to pillage personal data under the pretense of “protecting our children” or “safeguarding national security”. It never fails to raise my hackles that we, as Americans, have regressed into ignorant sheep who placidly chew on whatever disinformation we are spoon-fed via FOX News or some other JDL-funded excuse for media.

Wake up, people! The powers-that-be are lying their tax-fattened asses off!

Start questioning things like this and, perhaps more importantly, start taking time away from your television to put pen to paper. Start writing your elected officials to let them know how tired you are of their duplicitous agendas. Remind them that there are still people left in this country who are politically cognizant enough to back their opponent in the next election.

‘nuff said

100 percent in agreement thank heaven finally someon understands

perhaps the better question is not why the government is requesting this by why google is keeping these search records for so long. at some point they have to become irrelevant.

are you more concerned that the government is watching you or that google is?

my last searches:
"idiots guide to flying a plane"
"anarchist cookbook"
"getting weapons into airplanes"
"hacking into pentagon servers"
"talibans account number"
"major terrorist activities, how to"
"killing a president"
"smugling"
oh no, now the CIA will come after me for doing a school project on terrorism:-)

yeah you might want to be careful with that second to last one. the secret service doesn't take that lightly.

I'm a big Bush fan, but I think they're going too far with this. I think Google should fight this, I see no grounds for the government's actions. This could potentially open up their secrets to other companies and the world. Their search engine/database is what's made Google what they are. I hope they win this battle. Go Big G!

What they really want to know is if BushIsABigDummy.com is really more popular than PersianKitty.com.

LOL, irrelivent yes, funny yes!

Hahaha. Good one.

The idea is admirable, but if it is put through it could just open the flood gates for more companies and organisations sueing Google for information.

Why do they need the records anyway. Why don't they just do some google searches them selves and find the offending sites that way. They don't need the IP of the searcher, just the sites that are found. So get off your doughnut eating asses and do the searches your selves!
There is a right to privacy, in the same way as the government has no right to secretly search your hard drive, they really should have no right to know what you search on the internet. That is the beauty and much of the appeal of the internet, anonymity.

Don't give in Google.

Oh snap. My last google search:

"2005" "C#" "printing"

Uh oh, imagine what they'll do with that!

Seriously though, you know this time around the feds have a semi-nobel quest to keep kids from seeing a nice rack by accident. But next time it might be something we don't all agree with, like "We need to see 1 million searches so we can find alza-umbali mohammaed aled jazeera".

*I* should have gotten the subpena request to send in all my recent searches, not Google.

Eavesdroping on citizen's phone calls, reading their emails, and now wanting to access Google's data base. This is not just American's but people from all over the world. This is big brother at it's worst. You know it is only a matter of time before someone gets access to the data that shouldn't. Insiders will sell pieces to the highest bidder and the government will utilize it to discredit anyone that opposes them by leaking information. The Supreme Court needs to kill this once and for all.

Oh please. People get so excited when they find one thing that matches their conspiracy theories...

Wincement, maybe you haven't noticed that some govenrment agencies sell your information. I have seen a list of all the driver's licenses in my state for sale for $500. Also, a list of the HIV+ people has been sold. How many have had identity theft as a result of that data not being properly secured. Some of that information came from members of the military for relatively small amounts of money. It is not a conspiracy theory. It is the simple truth.

I agree with you on that one. You brought up an entirely different issue though: securing the information.

I am of the opinion that the government can gather any and all information they deem necessary only if it is to serve a very specific purpose and nothing else (such as preventing terrorist attacks, etc.). But the information should not be made available to anyone unless they are vital to that mission.

I think you would agree that that is in line with what you just said.

This is why I hate reading about politics on the internet--everyone believes what they read. Has anyone here read the government documents that were actually given to google requesting the info? If ANYONE ANYWHERE has please please post a reply.

Chances are:
1. Someone will lie that they have, but really haven't.
2. Someone will respond and call me a bigot or say 'you don't have to read the stuff to know about it', or some other thing to detract from my request, or
3. I will receive no reply.

Truth is Americans are too lazy to find the truth out for themselves, otherwise government would never have become so dis-trusted. We count on the morons from CNN, Fox News, ABC, NBC, and CBS for our answers. Why can't we find out the truth for ourselves? Read the material that the media read to bring their fabricated lie they call a 'story' and make our own decisions? The laziness of this generation sickens me.

Like Michael Moore?

First, I'm with you on the lazy part.

Second, since you read the documentation, what was the government's case that was misrepresented by the story above?

Third, trust the media, or trust the government. Tough choice, man.

no he cant be trusted at all.

he is quite biased and has wrong facts or just plain fabrications to support his tiny worthless ideas

"Third, trust the media, or trust the government. Tough choice, man."

You gotta point there :)

probably because not everyone has the freetime to do the research on every subject themselves ... kind of the whole reason the media exists.

i could see how the "bigot" comment could make since you seem to single out Americans as the only ones who listen to what the media tells them. perhaps you'd like to examine china and iran where the government controls access to what the media (web and print) presents? or maybe you'd just like to look at every other country that has media.

How about we trust our own judgement.

That's absolutly the right thing to do. Big medias aren't corrupted, but they want cash, a lot of cash. A good way to earn money is by freaking out people, so they often tell the news in a way that's more dramatic than in reality. They don't lie, but they arrange the informations they've got so that it looks worse than it is. That's why we must be very carefull, and us our own judegement. Also, reading independant newspapers and things like that might help...

(By the way, if you wan to experience this, pick any newspaper and read an article like you would normally do. Then, think about the impression this article has left you, and finally, analyse the article. Look for clues on what the author tried to do, what message he tried to pass. You'll find that there is not a single article that is not biased, simply because language doesn't allow it. Again, that is why we must be very very carefull when we read the news...)

--------------

Ahh and... Paradise-FH-,
you wrote:

"""
i could see how the "bigot" comment could make since you seem to single out Americans as the only ones who listen to what the media tells them. perhaps you'd like to examine china and iran where the government controls access to what the media (web and print) presents? or maybe you'd just like to look at every other country that has media.
""""

Why the hell do Americain think like that? Why do they say "Oh umm... we know we're doing something bad, but umm... we're not the only ones, so it's better..." This is completly immature. It makes me laugh.

"probably because not everyone has the freetime to do the research on every subject themselves ..."

Agreed. Speaking of...not that anyone wants to, but just in case you want to read it I'll give you the URL:

http://news.findlaw.com/...gle/gonzgoog11806m.html

That was exactly what I am saying. Too many times people trust other people's judgment and not their own...

You know I never really thought of google as a great website. But I think that this will not only change some minds but open some eyes. Regardless if they did it for the media, to get more people to use there website, or if they did it to protect their users. I support the right thing and this is the right thing. Go Google! Boo to anyone who doesn't agree with FREEDOM in any form.

Big government republicans: they've destroyed America and its economy, and now they out to destroy the internet. Thank goodness Google told Bush and the republicans to shove it.

Personally, I don't see a problem with the government wanting the information to help fight child-pornography. I say, if Google agreed to hand over the information, that would be fine. However, since they didn't, they shouldn't be made to give it up.

I believe Google should have the choice whether or not to give up private company information and make it public. And of course, they would have to except the PR consequences of either decision.

Hence their decision not to, I think. They'd rather be seen as "standing up to the government" than as "releasing private user data".

People nowadays are praised for "standing up to the government"....even if the stand they are taking is ASSinine. (emphasis added for effect)

The reason they want it has nothing to do with child porn. Re-read the article. There is no mention of child pornography. The reason is that they decided it's the government's job to raise the youth of America, so they're "trying to make it harder for children to get ahold of porn", when in reality they're just a lot of repressed, close-minded people that want to make it harder for normal, law abiding adults to access pornographic material. It's plainly obvious from other actions the administration has taken since it came into power. This is an area I feel the government has no right to be in.

*scans through the article again*

Weird. I guess I saw "child protection" and thought I saw "child porn" the first time I read it. 'Could have sworn I saw it in there. My bad.

Anyway... it's still a good cause.

"in reality they're just a lot of repressed, close-minded people that want to make it harder for normal, law abiding adults to access pornographic material. It's plainly obvious from other actions the administration has taken since it came into power."

Umm... sure... Have you actually read the proposed legislation? I have. Or at least parts of it. I didn't see anything that said, "law abiding adults will not be allowed to access adult material." It might make it more difficult with a few more pages to click through, but no one would be inhibited. I, for one, don't approve of the material being available to anyone, but seeing how I'm not a big supporter of censorship, I usually keep my mouth shut about it (ironically enough).

It's all in the interest of protecting children from *accidentally* coming across offensive and damaging material. For that cause, don't you think a few extra clicks is worth the trouble? (I'm assuming you're one of the millions who would be affected by this)

lol

Agreed.

They editeds it. I saw the same thing, man.

Of course it doesn't say they're trying to stop law abiding adults from accessing the material. That would be illegal. Just like it would be illegal to outright ban abortion, but opponents of it can chip away at it to make it harder and harder to have access to abortion. If you look at the other actions this administration has taken in the last 6 years regarding pornography, you can see they are attempting to do the the same thing with pornography. They can't ban it but they can sure as hell make it harder and harder to access.

Second, I don't buy the idea that a 14 or 15 year old watching a porn video is somehow damaging to them. Most of the people I know have grown up to be perfectly normal adults, despite the fact that they have grown up watching pornography every once and a while. Additionally, I have yet to see any actual solid evidence to to show that it is actually harmful. Instead of simply getting rid of it, why don't you instead sit down and talk with your child about what they may have come across and explain why you believe it's bad for them, as it is your right to believe, and then install some filtering software or enable the filtering that is going to be built into the operating systems in the future.

You completely ignored the most critical point. The laws are intended to prevent a minor from *accidentally* accessing adult material.

Whether or not the material is damaging is really beside the point. The point is, for whatever reason, they are not looking for the stuff, and it comes up anyway. That would be the definition of an accidental viewing.

AND, beyond all of that, it IS illegal for minors to view adult material. Hence, the name. The Child Protection law is merely trying to enforce what was already supposed to be happening; and that is restricting the access of adult materials by minors.

Thanks for backing me up. Thought I was going crazy.

It's the parent's responsibility to raise their kids, not some stupid nanny government. How does gathering up all this private information from Google help prevent anyone from viewing porn anyway? If they want to see what's out there how about just looking for themselves; it's not that hard to use a search engine. With all the spying on citizens/war on turr garbage lately I have a feeling this is more than what they are letting on.

You're right! But when parents don't take their
responsibility, it's the gov't job to step in and
not leave society w/o morals, decency and direction. The privacy issue is another matter...
but it doesn't absolve Uncle Sam of its duties.

So you're saying that even though lots of parents do take this responsibility seriously, they're going to be punished because of those who don't and have the government decide for them what the right way to raise their child is? I just don't buy that as an excuse. I don't buy into the idea that the government has the right to tell my child what is moral and decent. Children in Canada and Europe are much more balanced than American children, even with the nudity and bad language freely expressed in the media. They should focus more on getting parents to take responsibility for their children and less on watering down every form of media they can in the name of "protecting the child".

That's true, nudity in Europe is no big deal. In this country though it's considered shocking and sinful, while violence and death are wholesome family entertainment. Something is really wrong there.

where in the constitution, bill of rights or any other legislation does iot say that people can have kids and ignore them because the government will raise them for you? nowhere. get real. the government is NOT a babysitter and there are far more important issues that the government NEEDS to be addressing.. poverty, crime, jobs and more..
BUT.. I have to say, google can try all they want to hold the records back, and will fail, because under the patriot act and patriot act 2, the government has been given freedom to do as they wish in reguards toi invasion of privacy - of individuals and of companies.
screw that moron michael moorer or whatever his silly name is. he is a moron who wouldnt know the truth if it got shoved up his butt sideways by a blazing hot poker, this is reality... reality is that for the last 100 years, our government has been slowly but effectively "ammendmenting" out every right guaranteed by the constitution, and it's only a matter of time before they decide to start wielding all the power they have given themselves.. this is just the first step...

its not the governments job to decide what proper morals are. everyones idea of proper morals is different because of religion and cultural background, and in order to encourage diversity the government should butt out.

"Something is really wrong there."

Amen to that. And just getting people to agree on what that "Something" is is a challenge in itself, which is probably part of the problem.

The gov't better not push too far-- it's bad enough Google's spending all this legal money-- alls they have to do is relocate offshore: and when they discover cheaper rent, employees, taxes, infrastructure, less meddlesome authorities...AND other companies see how they've made a successful go of such a move, watch out for the mass migration tidal wave. If you think foreign offsourcing is bad now, wait 'till that giant sucking sound of the foreign vacuum cleaner exceeds safe decibel levels all over the land.
And, such a move is not that far-fetched: besides Brin, just look at their listings for mgmt. team, director board, advisory council-- most those unpronounceable names are from a slew of different countries.

In particular, all this has got to be so ironic to Brin: how the West is heading towards the former(& still in part) draconian totalitarianism of his native land.

As much as I hate Google, I hate this administration even more. Go Google.

Bush Administrations can kiss my @$$, its just another way of them trying to spy on the public just like how they tap on ppl's phone.

I hope they never win this settlement. Google better fight agianst it!!

Um...

Google is. Did you read the article?

Blah!

Uhhm, am I the only one missing the point? How is google providing this data actually going to help them prevent minors from viewing porn sites? Its not like google takes your age before you do a search on their site... ?

And its not like google databases really could provide info on which sites are "easily accessable to minors"

Your IP could be linked to some gay buttsecks search. Imagine you're a public figure...

3 words:

Google
Image
Search

You go Google!

Big Brother is Watching YOU!

Please read the entire article before any comments about Bush. I'm expecting political wars, but for your own sake spare the criticism/support statements until you read the whole thing.

"Privacy advocates warn that this is the case they have long feared, where with a little bit of legal action, entire databases with personal information could be open for companies -- and the government -- to see."

Honest question: Government will see it, yes, but how would this open the information for other companies to see it?

Because if it can be opened up by demand of a court, then any company could sue to access the data if they have a semi-legitimate claim. If Google gives in, it sets a precedent that such data does not have to be kept private.

*shrug*

Bush in or not in the issue means little.

This much control is a bad thing, regardless of the administration.

I understand the push behind the law, but why not try to write a law that works in everyone's interests instead of trying to push a poorly written one through while potentially sacrificing the privacy of billions and the viability of one of the most popular (for good or bad) companies on the net.

Google wants to keep it's information in as few hands as possible, and I respect that greatly. The more fingers that have access to it, the more likely it will begin to walk away and end up in the hands of others.

The government is trying to push a law through they cannot justify in it's current language.

Google is simply trying to protect itself.

Hackers, other court ordered requests, and the more people that know about it, the greater the risk of this info being leaked into more mainstream circles.

DO NO EVIL!

Don't give in Google!