New York Times Editorial - Search term here, forever
New York Times Editorial - Search term here, forever
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: August 21, 2006
When people search the Internet in their homes, it feels like a private activity. But as AOL reminded the world this month, when it made public 19 million search queries by customers, companies often store searches in ways that allow them to be traced back to specific users. The storing and sharing of data of this kind is a violation of users' privacy rights. The U.S. Congress, the Federal Trade Commission and the companies should do more to protect these rights.
Google and other companies store search information indefinitely, and once the data is stored it can easily get out. The companies may sell it to third parties. They may be forced to hand it over in response to a subpoena. Or employees at the companies can leak the information.
There should be strong safeguards in place to prevent search engine companies from storing and using this data, but the Bush administration has been pushing in the opposite direction. This year Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urged search companies to keep user data for long periods to help law enforcement.
Congress should step in. Representative Edward Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, has introduced a bill to prohibit Internet companies from warehousing personal data, including search queries. It is a good start, but it still gives companies too much leeway to keep data. The bill should be strengthened and passed.
The Federal Trade Commission should also do more. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a complaint against AOL, arguing that the recent well-publicized release of search data from 600,000 AOL customers was a deceptive trade practice. The commission should uphold the complaint, and send a clear message that invasions of privacy of this sort will be punished.
Whatever the government does, the companies themselves should be acting more responsibly. People often include information in their Internet searches that they do not want to share with the world, and they have a right to expect privacy. If companies do not have their users' affirmative consent to keep data, they should delete it, and make money from the many other very profitable parts of the search engine business.
When people search the Internet in their homes, it feels like a private activity. But as AOL reminded the world this month, when it made public 19 million search queries by customers, companies often store searches in ways that allow them to be traced back to specific users. The storing and sharing of data of this kind is a violation of users' privacy rights. The U.S. Congress, the Federal Trade Commission and the companies should do more to protect these rights.
Google and other companies store search information indefinitely, and once the data is stored it can easily get out. The companies may sell it to third parties. They may be forced to hand it over in response to a subpoena. Or employees at the companies can leak the information.
There should be strong safeguards in place to prevent search engine companies from storing and using this data, but the Bush administration has been pushing in the opposite direction. This year Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urged search companies to keep user data for long periods to help law enforcement.
Congress should step in. Representative Edward Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, has introduced a bill to prohibit Internet companies from warehousing personal data, including search queries. It is a good start, but it still gives companies too much leeway to keep data. The bill should be strengthened and passed.
The Federal Trade Commission should also do more. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a complaint against AOL, arguing that the recent well-publicized release of search data from 600,000 AOL customers was a deceptive trade practice. The commission should uphold the complaint, and send a clear message that invasions of privacy of this sort will be punished.
Whatever the government does, the companies themselves should be acting more responsibly. People often include information in their Internet searches that they do not want to share with the world, and they have a right to expect privacy. If companies do not have their users' affirmative consent to keep data, they should delete it, and make money from the many other very profitable parts of the search engine business.
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: August 21, 2006
When people search the Internet in their homes, it feels like a private activity. But as AOL reminded the world this month, when it made public 19 million search queries by customers, companies often store searches in ways that allow them to be traced back to specific users. The storing and sharing of data of this kind is a violation of users' privacy rights. The U.S. Congress, the Federal Trade Commission and the companies should do more to protect these rights.
Google and other companies store search information indefinitely, and once the data is stored it can easily get out. The companies may sell it to third parties. They may be forced to hand it over in response to a subpoena. Or employees at the companies can leak the information.
There should be strong safeguards in place to prevent search engine companies from storing and using this data, but the Bush administration has been pushing in the opposite direction. This year Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urged search companies to keep user data for long periods to help law enforcement.
Congress should step in. Representative Edward Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, has introduced a bill to prohibit Internet companies from warehousing personal data, including search queries. It is a good start, but it still gives companies too much leeway to keep data. The bill should be strengthened and passed.
The Federal Trade Commission should also do more. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a complaint against AOL, arguing that the recent well-publicized release of search data from 600,000 AOL customers was a deceptive trade practice. The commission should uphold the complaint, and send a clear message that invasions of privacy of this sort will be punished.
Whatever the government does, the companies themselves should be acting more responsibly. People often include information in their Internet searches that they do not want to share with the world, and they have a right to expect privacy. If companies do not have their users' affirmative consent to keep data, they should delete it, and make money from the many other very profitable parts of the search engine business.
When people search the Internet in their homes, it feels like a private activity. But as AOL reminded the world this month, when it made public 19 million search queries by customers, companies often store searches in ways that allow them to be traced back to specific users. The storing and sharing of data of this kind is a violation of users' privacy rights. The U.S. Congress, the Federal Trade Commission and the companies should do more to protect these rights.
Google and other companies store search information indefinitely, and once the data is stored it can easily get out. The companies may sell it to third parties. They may be forced to hand it over in response to a subpoena. Or employees at the companies can leak the information.
There should be strong safeguards in place to prevent search engine companies from storing and using this data, but the Bush administration has been pushing in the opposite direction. This year Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urged search companies to keep user data for long periods to help law enforcement.
Congress should step in. Representative Edward Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, has introduced a bill to prohibit Internet companies from warehousing personal data, including search queries. It is a good start, but it still gives companies too much leeway to keep data. The bill should be strengthened and passed.
The Federal Trade Commission should also do more. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a complaint against AOL, arguing that the recent well-publicized release of search data from 600,000 AOL customers was a deceptive trade practice. The commission should uphold the complaint, and send a clear message that invasions of privacy of this sort will be punished.
Whatever the government does, the companies themselves should be acting more responsibly. People often include information in their Internet searches that they do not want to share with the world, and they have a right to expect privacy. If companies do not have their users' affirmative consent to keep data, they should delete it, and make money from the many other very profitable parts of the search engine business.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 8:23 AM
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