Google vs. Scroggle: The Good and Bad of Search Engines

http://boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/01/21/google_subpoena_roils_the_web/

The link above references another article that sheds light on how our privacy is further being compromised by database technology; the companies who initiate this compromise; and by the government with its attempts to gain greater access to personal information via the claim of civil protection. As the article headlines "Google Subpoea Roils The Web," there is indeed lot of conflicting emotions regarding whether Google---the mega search engine--should release the contents of its repositories to the government in an effort to fight Internet crime.

The information in Google's repositories can or could identify users via a reverse search of information obtained from online users who utilize search engines. It seems that Google and many other search engine companies collect data from users conducting searches, stores it for various business-related research (at least that is their official statement and no real admittance of what they actually do with that data), and maintains this information indefintely despite the risk of data compromise. These search engine companies create indices to the information that they maintain like a reference resource in a library and similar to a reference book with printed information, the information remains available as long as it is not discarded. The only difference here is that the public does not have access to the very information about them that seems public information to the search engine companies. Until I read this article, I was not fully aware of just how much or the exact nature of the information that was being collected and stored by companies who gather data from Internet users. Now, I am aware and unfortunately so is the government ---not that this was an entity left in the dark because they are basically becoming more like George Orwell's Big Brother. If Big Brother is becoming more of a reality, then all I can say is Poor Us and Poor Them.

Poor Us: all of us Internet users duped by the convenience and useful resources that these mega databank companies provide and now its Poor Them---search engine companies---whose chickens have come home to roost as the government seeks to benefit from their profiteering efforts. Now, they are being sued to release the information that they perhaps never should have collected in the first place or at the very least, should have never stored. They have no definite plans for these obvious datawarehouses so instead of discarding it they continue to stockpile it despite the potential for misuse if in the hands of malicious individuals or other worse case scenarios possibly our government in its quest to help.

A lot of these companies have begun to cooperate with the government, vowing to only supply necessary information while protecting users' identities. However, Goggle is putting up a fight supposedly to protect the users yet this seems a little contradictory because there is no mention of simply purging the data. I say if Google is really interested in the rights of Internet users for whom they provide both a good service and disservice to, then they can choose to end bilateral services and simply do good by their users---delete those repositories of user information. If Google does nothing more than put up a good fight with the government over their right to keep data collected via users' ignorance of their unauthorized data gathering to themselves, then Google and companies alike might as well join the government in the emerging role of Big Brother.

Google and companies alike, that execute these sneaky activities without fully disclosing them to the users of their services represent what is bad about search engines. It is one of the most popular search engines around and has become a catch phrase in pop culture, but I wonder how popular Google would be if ALL users knew that their personal information was being collected. I don't believe most users are aware regardless of what is on the news, Internet, or in the papers. It is big news to me and I obtain information from all mediums. Perhaps, I have been too comfortable with the information that I could get from the resource to notice what information that resource could and possibly would get from me. I am sure that is likely the case for most users. Yet, I wonder what they would do differently if armed with the knowledge of all the companies like Google to whom we must be easy prey.

Well, I know what I would do---go back to the basics for research, use public computers when I can, and or search for public interest group (privacy activists) online services who believe in our continued right to privacy despite the advances of technology. One such group mentioned in this article is Scroggle.org who represents good and what could be a good quality about all search engines. It is a "public interest group, Public Information Research Inc. of San Antonio," who "runs scroogle.org, an Internet service that disguises the Internet address of searchers who want to run Google and Yahoo searches anonymously (Hiawatha Bray Globe 2006 page 2) . "

"...Internet users concerned about privacy should do their Internet searches through Scroogle or other Internet ''proxies" that hide the address of the searcher (Osphalt, Bray 2). " Also, Google and other search companies should regularly erase their database of saved searches (Osphalt, Bray 2). "Perhaps they should consider whether it's worthwhile to keep all this information indefinitely. (Osphalt, Bray 2)."

After reading this, I visited the site scroogle.org and added it to my list of search engines on Internet Explorer. Now, I would like to believe that if I use this site to conduct my searches online that it will honestly perform the duty that it advertises. I will keep my fingers crossed because in today's society everyone has something to lose and something to gain even the "do good" groups. It is that tradeoff that got us all in this mess in the first place as we gained the information we searched for and lost our privacy in the process. However, I remain hopeful that there are still pure, privacy advocates out there who lend legitimate services such as scroogle.org to all of us still concerned about the loss of our privacy.