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Subpoena Resistance Hurts Google Stock
imrec writes "Google stock sees a record 8% decline shortly after news concerning the government's request for Google's search logs broke earlier this week." From the article: "'There are potentially concerns that Google could be in the cross-hairs of the Justice Department,' Kessler said. 'Investors are worried about interest rates and inflation and they felt technology stocks like Google, Apple, Yahoo and others were able to withstand these kinds of pressure. But now that ability is in doubt,'"
Going public was a double-edged sword for Google. While Google performs and the stock performs, the shareholders aren't an issue (pretty much up until now). Google's "Do No Evil" is really out of their control now. A bunch of short-sighted bottom-line investors are in control of it now. Google can manage to take a hit here and there, but if this thing of the DoJ gets out of hand, Google's whole culture may take a change for the worse when the shareholders want their pound of flesh.
Google does something that is bound to endear them to their audience, and thus bound to increase their "ratings" (page views), and thus bound to increase click numbers for their customers, and so bound to increase their income - and their stock goes DOWN? Once they get a court order, they'll give up the data, sure, but the cost of fighting the supoena is nothing compared to the good will their resistance to releasing user data will garner. I don't think these investors really understand what Google is selling.
... the stock was simply highly overpriced and the markets made a first adjustment!!!
I think Google did the right thing.
Google is a marketing and advertising company. First, foremost, and mostly only. The don't be evil thing is superb marketing that gained them a groundswell of grassroots support, good for them. But their stock in trade, the tins of beans on their shelves, is consumer data. This information is their livelihood. the only reason they are resisted government requests for this information is because they don't want to give up their hard won and very valuable data. Plain and simple. Once it gets into govt hands, who knows where else it will go?
This is not ethics or morals, its like asking walmart to give up their entire inventory of shop-brand cola forever, while still buying it in. That's google's position, so spare us the hero stuff. (Shakespeare?!?) I fully expect this to be modded into the topsoil by the cleansed of brain, but honestly, this is slashdot. Three strangers disagree with you and you're meant to feel bad?
What he can't kill, he has sex on. Trent.
The tech sector was especially hard hit. Intel, Apple, and Yahoo, who according to slashdot did comply with the investigations, all took a beating. This story is nothing but FUD, pretty standard stuff here on slashdot.
Monstar L
The request is not perfectly reasonable. The government is asking for lots and lots of data from Google to support their argument for a bill.
I don't know about you, but there is absolutely no possible justification for this. A subpoena is meant to compel testimony in a court proceeding, not to steal data on your citizens for the soul purpose of possibly justifyiny a conclusion you made based off of hyperbole.
The Yasashii Syndicate ||
I think the bush administration has already lost.
The kind of McCarthyesque trend that the bush administration has been promoting tends to fall apart when the people get tired of it and someone very publicly stands up against it.
Gonzales might have gotten away with this in the post 9/11 hysteria.
Now, years and broken promises later people are tired of it all.
Gonzales already lost it for the bush administration by having Google tell him "No".
If he pursues them in court he will just draw more public attention and outrage to the situation, worsening the bush administration image with every public word that is spoken about it.
"Stop Searching"
Forget the stock price, do you approve of the government looking into your searching habits? I dont.
Remember when it was said ' they would never do that' just a couple of years ago when echelon was all the talk? Welp, welcome to 'never'.
---- Booth was a patriot ----