Google's Data-Storage Fuels Privacy Fears

taoman1 writes "Facing worries about its tracking Web surfers' every move, Google Inc. is now offering a feature to track Web surfers' every move. Its free Web History service is strictly voluntary — Google users can sign up to have the Internet giant keep detailed records of every website they visit so they can easily find them again later. Web History's quiet debut this week came as privacy advocates continued to raise alarms about the prospect of Google combining its collection of information on individuals with that of DoubleClick Inc. Google has agreed to acquire the New York-based company, which distributes Web ads and tracks where the majority of people go on the Internet, for $3.1 billion."

Comments

"Do no evil" is a huge misdirection

[drDugan]

I'll be dramatic: Google is a huge threat to human freedoms.

And now defend it:

Google is effectively an information black hole - collecting information and letting it back out for more money. They are now sitting on $12B in cash to buy other information collection systems (companies). Most founders and owners can be bought for much less. The one with the most information almost always can win any game/competition.

Unfortunately, the problems that google will be able to cause people/companies are enormous, therefore, the money they will be able to get to "avoid" those problems is similarly enormous. Frankly, unless they change their one-way information collection toon quickly, there will be a loud and growing cry to ban/avoid Google rising in the next few years.

While services from the "big" Internet companies offer are often great and useful, the real tradeoff people are making is a one-way street: making these giant companies so powerful. They are not necessarily working in the best interests of ordinary people, rather in the interest of making even more money.

Eventually, there needs to be some capitation on capitalism for the world to be truly global and to balance local interests with common global ones.