Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Google Searches Used in Murder Trial?

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the thought-police dept.

mcrbids writes "Well, the details are a bit scant, but it seems that the content of Google searches were used to help establish intent in a murder trial. Will police in the future simply serve a subpoena to Google to find out what you've been thinking about? While this use of that information makes sense, at what point does your privacy give way to public concerns? Should police be able to search through your search history for "questionable" searches before you've been arrested for a crime, and what effect would this have on the health of society?"

18 of 260 comments (clear)

  1. Clueless! by Threni · · Score: 2, Funny

    > Will police in the future simply serve a subpoena to Google to find out what
    > you've been thinking about?

    How would Google know what someone has been thinking about?

    1. Re:Clueless! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      How would Google know what someone has been thinking about?

      They're Google.

    2. Re:Clueless! by mlarios · · Score: 3, Funny

      If you've filed bankruptcy or are considering it, I would caution against getting engaged.

    3. Re:Clueless! by dubl-u · · Score: 5, Funny

      Don't even get me started about my porn perferences ;)

      Dude, that you perforate your porn is TMI.

    4. Re:Clueless! by toddestan · · Score: 4, Funny

      If you've filed bankruptcy or are considering it, I would caution against getting engaged.

      Why not? When she leaves and takes half, she won't be getting much, now will she?

  2. Note to self by ThatGeek · · Score: 5, Funny

    Note to self: Remeber to clear browser cache before killing someone.

    Thanks for the reminder slashdot!

    --
    What are you eating? isItVeg?.
  3. Let's conduct an experiment... by aurb · · Score: 5, Funny

    *launches google*

    *types "how to bomb white house"...*

    **KNOCK KNOCK**

    "Who's th....

    1. Re:Let's conduct an experiment... by zerocool^ · · Score: 2, Funny



      "WE ask the questions around here!"

      --
      sig?
    2. Re:Let's conduct an experiment... by Reziac · · Score: 2, Funny

      LOL!! good one.

      Conversely, there's the Sgt.Schultz approach:

      A: Knock, knock.
      B: Who's there?
      A: What are you asking ME for??

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
  4. Sounds like Madison Ave. material to me... by toupsie · · Score: 5, Funny

    Need information to help with killing your wife? Choose Altavista, the Cops would never think to ask us!

    Visit altavista.com and search "Snap Neck"

    --
    Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
  5. I can kick any of your asses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    oh yes it's true and i don't even care if this post is used in the evidence of your ass beating.

  6. Re:RTFA by whitehatlurker · · Score: 2, Funny

    If this guy had only used an alternate browser, he would have gotten away with it. :-)

    --
    .. paranoid crackpot leftover from the days of Amiga.
  7. Think of the trees by imrdkl · · Score: 2, Funny

    100 million pages removed from his computers is simply inexcusable.

  8. Re:can you say, "circumstantial evidence"? by planetoid · · Score: 2, Funny

    You have no idea how thankful I am that people with your understanding of legal rights hold no position in the legal system

    Are you sure about that?

    --
    Slashdot requires you to wait longer between hitting 'reply' and submitting a comment.
  9. Re:Already done by kesuki · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's why real criminals use firefox ;)

    Anyone stupid enough to use IE to aid in committing a crime Deserves to have the book thrown at them.

    --
    https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
  10. Google Sets by Tim+Ward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Google Sets will need a little more work before it knows what people are thinking. It's OK for things like "Beatles songs" or "Cambridge colleges", obvious stuff like that, but when I entered the names of half the girlfriends I've had it didn't come out with the other half of the list.

  11. Search-terms found on Goatse's PC by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Funny

    "dynomite", "hole", "blast", "ass", "trick", "slashdot", "pleasure", "bigger", "troll"

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  12. That's it for me! by dlaur · · Score: 2, Funny

    I vow to no longer use Google anymore, now that I know they capture everything I do.

    Uh... wait a minute... the internet - without Google... hmm.

    Um. Forget it.