Google Report Shows Governments Want More Private Data

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Google Report Shows Governments Want More Private Data

Posted by Unknown on Wednesday January 23, 2013 @05:31AM from the hungry-hungry-government dept.

judgecorp writes "The latest Google Transparency Report, which tallies the number of times personal data is requested from Google, shows that governments are becoming more inquisitive than ever. Requests for user data have gone up by 70 percent since Google started these reports in 2009 — but the report shows Google is getting better at saying no: in 2009 it complied — fully or partially — with 76 percent of requests, and that figure is now down to 66 percent." This report is the first to feature requests broken down by the legal process used.

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better at saying no? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-23 05:38 · Score: 5, Insightful

More like governments are overreaching asking for data they have no legal right to than ever before.
1. Re:better at saying no? by Runaway1956 · 2013-01-23 06:37 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Patriot Act, dude. Gubbermint wrote themselves a blank check with that one. And, they've written more blank checks since then. Everything the Buggermint - I mean GUBBERMINT! wants is "legal". Don't confuse "legal" with "moral", or "ethical", or "right". If the buggerers in gubbermint ever figures out that something they want is illegal, they'll just write some new laws!
  
  --
  "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
Getting better at saying no. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-23 05:38 · Score: 3, Informative

I feel more allegiance to Google than the US government tbqh.
Little math here by DJ+Jones · 2013-01-23 05:39 · Score: 4, Insightful

If the requests went up by 70% and the the amount of "no"s dropped by 20%. They are not "getting better at saying no" on a raw numerical basis.

Think about it.
1. Re:Little math here by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-23 05:48 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Came here for this.
  Old scheme, 100 requests filed, 76 requests filled.
  New scheme, 170 requests filed, 112 requests filled.
  Providing more information isn't the same as providing less.
2. Re:Little math here by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-23 05:52 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  i think the amount of "yes"s dropped by 10% (66% complied with vs 76%)
  your point is still valid tho ...
3. Re:Little math here by Runaway1956 · 2013-01-23 06:45 · Score: 2
  
  Yeah, what AC said.
  I have zero problem with a police department doing actual police work, building a case strong enough to warrant reasonable cause, then actually getting a warrant. This is cool - it's what we have police for. Joe Schmuck is suspected of whatever, they find a couple of things on Facebook that indicates he might really be guilty, he's overheard making a couple comments in a bar, and those few things add up to, "Your honor, we believe that Mr. Schmuck is guilty of at least three counts of preying on the elderly (or whatever) but we need access to his email and stuff - will you sign this warrant?" The judge accepts these bits and pieces as probable cause, or he tells the cops to get their asses to work, and do a better job of convincing him that Joe is a crook.
  Warrant in hand, they can browse anything and everything available on the guy.
  Fishing expeditions should cost cops their careers.
  
  --
  "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
Pity by captbob2002 · 2013-01-23 05:43 · Score: 4, Insightful

Pity that Google even has user's private data to give to governments
1. Re:Pity by DerekLyons · 2013-01-23 06:00 · Score: 2
  
  Why is it a pity that Google is held to same legal standard as every other company or individual in the US?
2. Re:Pity by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-23 06:05 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  If you didn't give them private data. They don't have it.
  Nobody to blame but yourself.
  (captcha:blamable That is so weird.)
3. Re:Pity by maxwell+demon · 2013-01-23 07:56 · Score: 2
  
  The most problematic is googleapis, because many web sites simply won't work without those.
  
  --
  The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
Privacy not a concern for citizens by GodfatherofSoul · 2013-01-23 05:51 · Score: 2

I'm not talking about the lip service. I'm talking about what people actually do. I have a placeholder facebook page (not an active user) and I regularly get spammed with activity updates from "friends." People seem to have no hesitation about what they post. And, I don't just mean kids. Until people show they care, it'll just get worse.

--
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
1. Re:Privacy not a concern for citizens by Runaway1956 · 2013-01-23 06:53 · Score: 2
  
  People look at me weird when I make any attempt to explain what Facebook does with their data. People over the age of fifteen seem to forget that very recently they did stuff for which they would be embarrassed today. Prepubescent children do a lot of weird, disgusting things. People over the age of 20 forget that they were freaky-ass zit-faced punks very recently, and that the conduct that seemed so amusing a couple years ago would be very embarrassing today.
  But - they continue to post all manner of stupid shit, never thinking for a moment that some of it might be embarrassing someday, in a divorce court, or a slander case, or at an employment interview.
  Dumb. Just plain dumb. Post all your stupidest shit online, so that your worst enemies will always have it to use against you. And, who knows - maybe today's best friend will be your worst enemy next year!
  
  --
  "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
Re:Wouldn't it be nice... by game+kid · 2013-01-23 05:53 · Score: 3, Interesting

Don't wait on it. They're still too busy harassing YouTube users to show their Real Name, and tweaking the same to look more like Facebook (noticed those pics next to the comments? --oh who am I kidding, I'm trying to get people to read YouTube comments to make a point...silly me).
Tough to stop employees from doing something when it's the company goal.

--
You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
Move along nothing to see here by DerekLyons · 2013-01-23 05:58 · Score: 2

Move along - nothing to see here. It should be obvious to anyone who stops and thinks, for even a brief moment, that as more people move more and more of their life online that there will be more requests to access that information.
And when you break down the numbers it works out to about a hundred a day, and since Google doesn't specify that this is limited to Feds, one is forced to assume it includes all governmental bodies at all levels. As a result, I'm not horrified that the number is so high but rather I find it interesting that the number is so low.
Re:Wouldn't it be nice... by geminidomino · 2013-01-23 05:59 · Score: 2

Which has exactly nothing to do with encrypting the messages themselves. SSL just encrypts the transport, they're still stored in nice, invasion-friendly cleartext.
The obvious concern: by s.petry · 2013-01-23 06:14 · Score: 2

At least for US citizens should be the fact that the US government has increased their requests by astronomical amounts, and is the majority of the requests. 21,389 requests for private data of 33,634 This makes it obvious that these requests are not all "give me info on John Doe", but rather "Give me info on Jane and John. Now to the point I start with: According to this, the US owns at least a third of all of the requests. You _should_ be asking why and not just shrugging off this information.
No, we are not suffering from a rash of terrorism in the US (unless we go and rightfully call what the self proclaimed elites are doing terrorism). The Government is systematically shutting up anyone that observes their first amendment rights, especially those that begin to make headway with the sheople. OWS and the admitted collusion between DHS, FBI, TSA, Local Police departments, and Banks should be more than an obvious glimpse at how big the problem is. Better get to waking up the neighbors, this won't get better on it's own.

--
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.