Should the government know less than Google?

By EmmaZahn on Mon, 06/17/2013 - 7:47am |

So how much access should governments have? Here are a few things to consider:

1. Google's servers have been reading the content of Gmail users' e-mails since the service debuted, in order to serve up user-appropriate advertising and to block spam. Microsoft, Yahoo and all the other major search and e-mail providers do more or less the same thing. If you've watched a YouTube video about barbecue grilling techniques and then you write an e-mail to friends inviting them over for burgers, you should not, in this day and age, be surprised to see an ad for a Fire Magic Aurora 660s portable gas grill pop up in your browser. Google knows what you've been viewing and writing on the internet, and it is happy to sell this knowledge to third-party companies that are looking for consumers like you.*

2. Imagine that rather than watching videos about barbecue grilling techniques on YouTube, you have instead been watching videos of beheadings in Pakistan, accompanied by romantic footage of black-flag-waving horsemen riding to re-establish the caliphate. Let's say you then write an e-mail to your brother saying you've acquired most of the materials to assemble the package, except you can't find an affordable pressure cooker. Is it acceptable for Google to contract with Williams Sonoma to send you an advertisement for an affordable pressure cooker based on its knowledge of your viewing habits and the contents of your e-mails? (This is currently the foundation of an entire global industry, so deciding it's not acceptable would have serious economic consequences.)

URL:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/06/surveillance-0?spc=scode&spv=xm&ah=9d7f7ab945510a56fa6d37c30b6f1709

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Should the government know less than Google?

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