I will start by saying, “I like what Google offers”. *BUT* I’m not sure I can accept the cost to personal privacy. (And the more I write about “Goolge” and “privacy” the less likely they’d ever offer me a job <snicker>)

A recent 6 month investigation by Research International concluded …

… the decision to place Google at the bottom of the ranking is likely to be controversial, but throughout our research we have found numerous deficiencies and hostilities in Google’s approach to privacy that go well beyond those of other organizations. While a number of companies share some of these negative elements, none comes close to achieving status as an endemic threat to privacy …

Results are available here in PDF format: Interim Rankings

Source: A Race to the Bottom - Privacy Ranking of Internet Service Companies

I realize that a huge part of Google’s value proposition (to it’s shareholders) is the value of all that personal data. There would need to be a shift in Google’s business plan to move to a more personal privacy supportive behavior. It might mean paying for that free email, paying for search (directly or indirectly), etc. Most significant to Google, it would mean less differentiation with the rest of the Internet data mongers Google competes with.

Still, I can not avoid comparing the image of Google’s ultimate corporate goal with some of Hollywood’s darker Orwellian themes productions … perhaps Google *will soon be* the fodder of Hollywood!

Related tangests ...   Get "select-n-search" from anywhere   Using Google search for inspiration and decision making   Will Amazon S3 become the next consumer backup "product" ?

Posted in Google, Privacy |

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.