Google Gets A Dose of Their Own Medicine
According
to an article I came across on PCWorld.com, Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman
for Google, is upset with the NSA over none other than a privacy issue. There
was an article posted recently in the Washington Post stating that the NSA has
been spying on the Internet giant’s servers. In an interview with the Wall
Street Journal he stated this was not OK. He continued that this is possibly
illegal and that the government does not have to spy on
all 320 million Americans to bust 300 suspected terrorists. Of course the NSA denies this and says that its not the servers they accessed, but
the links between them and the open Internet. Though the NSA claims it is
abiding within the law with its mining techniques, an audit from 2011 and 2012
shows they broke the law nearly 3,000
times.
I totally agree with Google here that there is a privacy
issue, but as we all know Google is not so innocent either. They did
participate in the NSA’s PRISM Program that collected information from
citizen’s email and phone calls. Millions of Americans became upset with the
NSA and our Government once Edward Snowden, whistleblower of NSA’s spy program,
leaked this information. Now other countries, whether they are allies or not,
are also upset with the NSA due to them spying even across international
boarders. Data mining or spying seems wrong when people do not know it is going
on. There should be warnings posted or consent requests on websites that host
data mining spyware or any other software that is collecting personal
information on any individual. This should take place especially on initial
visits.
Google uses keywords from our personal private e-mails to
better suggest advertisements to us on their browser. This is a little creepy.
I do agree with Google being upset with the NSA, but I feel Google should be
held accountable too. I would like to know your opinions on this subject. Do you feel Google has the right to be upset
with the NSA if they are doing the same thing to you and me? Also, what are
some ideas to inform the public about the information collected from them?
Jeffers, Dave. “Google is
understandably upset with the NSA.”
PCWorld.com. Online.
4
Nov 2013. http://www.pcworld.com/article/2060682/google-is-understandably-upset-with-the-nsa.html#tk.nl_today. 12 Nov 2013.
I do understand why Google is upset, but it reminds me of the old saying "the pot calling the kettle black." Just as Google should be upset with the NSA, we should be upset with Google and the NSA. I remember how shocked I was when I first started learning about how in essence, everything you put online could be spied on. What surprises me is that Google really thought that the NSA wouldn't also collect information on them. In this day and age, everyone including businesses, should assume that everything they do that has the internet involved, is not private. We all have a better understanding today on what the government and big companies are doing, so why not just keep that in mind when using the internet?
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DeleteKristina, I agree completely. Living in the World we do today and the dangers that could potentially arise for not having the security we currently have; it's crucial to be conscious of what you're posting and viewing on the internet. Businesses, organizations, and individuals compile large amounts of data that are being translated into meaningful information for not only the NSA, but advertising companies and much more.
DeleteThe whole data mining thing is a little scary. The fact that someone is always watching what you do and where you go seems a little intruding. I think its a little hypocritical for Google to have issues with the nsa when they are doing the same thing to anyone using their search engines.
ReplyDeleteJonathan, Data mining is definitely very intimidating. However, it's not as closely monitored and prevailing as you're assuming. Data mining is something that software is monitoring and translating that data to humans so that it's more meaningful and can be utilized.
DeleteI have heard so many times that a hidden fee for liberty is privacy, that’s a whole other story. Google is my favorite search engine; I use it on my smartphone as well as my desktop. I was forced to create a gmail account for my Samsung device in order to download apps and basically use the phone; it uses all my information from my phone for everything I do not need. They claim it’s for convenience and the intent is to be an aid to the user. But why?
ReplyDeleteCreepy is a nice way of putting it; snooping is snooping, whether it’s used for good (for the advertisers and Google’s revenue model) or bad (for the consumers as an invasion of privacy) it’s still rude and annoying. My search engine uses my geographic location to generate my search results, which are fine; but why sell our email addresses? I don’t use gmail as my primary email in an attempt to avoid it at all cost.
Great read!
Youshika, thank you for your comment. You're totally right, your strong opinions are shared by many other google users. But, honestly, giving up your information is sometimes the cost of using the internet for convenience. And by using the internet and it's amenities, there is now way to evade those circumstances. It's unavoidable. Be cautious of your online actions because it can definitely affect you in the long run.
DeleteNo google should not be mad when it gets a taste of their own medicine. We could publicize this issue till we're blue in the face some people won't care because they're thinking well what can we do about it? There's these organizations that have this much authority so who else can we talk to about this privacy matter.
ReplyDeleteMargarita, thank you for your comment. In my honest opinion, there really isn't anything we can do about it; however, I do think consumers have a different perception on what information is actually being taken from them. In all actuality, the information that is obtained by companies is solely to market their merchandise, not to invade privacy. If consumers are considering that to be an invasion of privacy, then they need to stop using the internet in general.
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