Google Officially Rejects U.S. Government’s Request for Search Record Data
This rejection was mentioned in documents Google submitted to the court in response to an official demand from the U.S. Department of Justice. With a firm and assertive tone, Google stated that this request infringes on user privacy and would disclose trade secrets to the company’s competitors.
Furthermore, Google indicated that providing such information is entirely feasible, yet they cannot meet the government’s request.
Bold Arguments
The U.S. Department of Justice demanded that Google hand over records of search results from a typical week at the end of January. Previously, this department had made similar requests to other internet giants like Microsoft, AOL, and Yahoo.
Initially, Google opposed this request, but it was not until the federal court filing that Google formally declined. The submission, totaling 25 pages, used very strong and bold language to criticize the Justice Department’s request, which was based on the argument that current regulations (primarily voluntary) are insufficient to protect children from the violent and pornographic content rampant on the internet.
However, in their documentation, Google bluntly stated that they do not believe that providing records of search results would help the government understand users’ online behavior.
“This request is not only ‘absurd’ but also very unreasonable,” Google declared.
It is absurd because Google must constantly adjust the algorithms behind its search library, allowing for specific addresses to be generated for a particular search term. This means that the results for a search term cannot be identical across different weeks.
Continuing with their impassioned stance, Google wrote: “Google users trust that whenever they type a keyword into the search box, Google will help keep this information confidential,” which is a compelling reason for Google to reject the Justice Department’s request. Supporting Google’s position is the American Civil Liberties Union, which also filed a brief in court, accusing the Justice Department’s request of being “the latest example of government overreach, in which the government believes it can demand that every private company provide all information about its customers, simply on the grounds that ‘they need that information’.”
The court hearing regarding this dispute is scheduled to take place on March 13.
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