ZDNet UK Begs for Google's Forgiveness

prostoalex writes "In light of the recent CNet ban by Google folks at ZDNet UK are now not sure whether they will get the same treatment, being a CNet company. But, just in case, they apologize profusely: 'Acting under the mistaken impression that Google's search engine was intended to help research public data, we have in the past enthusiastically abused the system to conduct exactly the kind of journalism that Google finds so objectionable. Clearly, there is no place in modern reporting for this kind of unregulated, unprotected access to readily available facts, let alone in capriciously using them to illustrate areas of concern. We apologise unreservedly, and will cooperate fully in helping Google change people's perceptions of its role just as soon as it feels capable of communicating to us how it wishes that role to be seen.'"

Comments

Re:My favorite line

[Decameron81]

"That's perfect. It is a bad sign about Google's corporate culture that, as a search engine company with ad revenue, they don't think people should be able to find the information the search engine provides."

Google is offering us a very powerful tool which can of course be misused. ZDNet is full of jerks who think that just because something is possible, it is also in their right to take advantage of it.

To put things in perspective: imagine for a second that the info ZDNet posted online was about you. Would you still think it's ok?