Google is caught between a rock and a hard place.
Their Privacy Policy and obligation to disclose certain things legally is blurring the lines. In a previous post, we discussed how Google was forced to turn over the identity of a blogger for a defamation suit. Another similar story surfaced dealing with Gmail users, whose identities were also revealed under court orders:
Developer Cem Kinay of Miami accuses TCI Journal of causing “reputational damage and lost profits,” according to a civil complaint filed in California. A court order tells Google to turn over data that may help identify users of the newspaper’s account with Gmail, the Internet search company’s e-email service.
Google said in a statement to The Associated Press it is obligated to comply with “valid court orders,” but generally notifies users to give them time to challenge an order, as it did in this case.
However, in the case of Google Books, Google says the following:
While Google Books has always been covered by the general Privacy Policy for all of Google’s services, we understand that the privacy of reading records is especially important to readers and libraries. We know that users want to understand how Google’s privacy practices apply to Books today, and what will happen after the settlement … which is currently awaiting court approval.
The Privacy Policy reads:
- We do not share your personal information with third parties, except in the narrow circumstances described in the Privacy Policy, such as emergencies or in response to valid legal process.
- When you use Google Books, we receive log information similar to what we receive in Web Search. This includes: the query term or page request (which may include specific pages within a book you are browsing), Internet Protocol address, browser type, browser language, the date and time of your request and one or more cookies that may uniquely identify your browser . . .
- Special legal privacy protections for users may apply in cases where law enforcement or civil litigants ask Google for information about what books an individual user has looked at. Some jurisdictions have special “books laws” saying that this information is not available unless the person asking for it meets a special, high standard – such as proving to a court that there is a compelling need for the information, and that this need outweighs the reader’s interest in reading anonymously under the United States First Amendment or other applicable laws. Where these “books laws” exist and apply to Google Books, we will raise them. We will also continue our strong history of fighting for high standards to protect users, regardless of whether a particular “books law” applies. In addition, we are committed to notifying the affected user if we receive such a request that may lead to disclosure of their information; if we are permitted to do so by law and if we have an effective way to contact the user, we will seek to do so in time for the user to challenge the request.
Basically, Google admits they must comply with court orders. They do insist that they will still protect users’ privacy in cases of disclosure of reading lists and user search queries. They have a track record; in early 2006 Google fought the Justice Dept over earch records, saying resistance was justified as part of the enforcement of the 1998 Child Online Protection Act.
So, does Google really have your best interest at heart? Or is it all a case by case evaluation based on benefit to or damage of Google?
Tags: gmail, Google, Google Books, privacy issues