Google collects data from millions of its accounts every day. The search company giant owns the top-ranked search portal, a wildly popular e-mail service, a widely-used customizable home page, a leading feed reader, the top-ranked feed management system, the top-ranked analytics product, the largest distributed ad network, the most widely-distributed traffic monitoring toolbar, and the largest video content hosting site.
The collection of personal data from these services has been
the subject of much criticism in regards to issues related to ethics, privacy,
and security. Google’s own mission statement, which is “to organize the world’s
information and make it universally accessible and useful,” (Google.com) and the
means to accomplish it, has raised concerns among company critics. Much of the
criticism pertains to issues that still have not yet been addressed by cyber
law.
In order to fully understand the issues surrounding Google,
it is imperative to first look at the research and news reports about the
company. Doing this will help to determine whether or not people should have
concerns about Google’s products and services. We will now look at each of
these issues in detail.
Ethical Issues
Google has been criticized for various instances of unethical
practices. One of these practices has to do with copyright violations. In 2010,
Google Books was sued by the American Society of Media Photographers for the
“illegal scanning of millions of books and other publications containing
copyrighted images and displaying them to the public without regard to the
rights of the visual creators” (O’Dell, 2010).
In addition to copyright violations, Google has also been
criticized for many of its business decisions. In 2010, Google spent $51.6
million on lobbyists, which was more than Yahoo, Facebook and Apple combined
(Kessler, 2011). Another report shows that the FTC challenged Google’s
acquisition of AdMob for antitrust reasons (Parr, 2010). Google even reportedly
paid $8.5 million to make a class action lawsuit concerning Google Buzz to
disappear (Parr, 2010).
Google has also received much criticism from retrieving too
much personal data from its users and then using that information for
advertising purposes. This raises questions such as:
How much data should the company collect from its users?
Is all of your information fair game if you decide to sign
up for a Google account?
Should there be restrictions on which data the company
should be allowed to access?
Privacy Issues
Back in 2012, Google updated its privacy policy that allowed
the company to share data between 60 of its Web services. Any user with a
Google account had to agree to the policy. Users who did not want their
information shared had the option to close their Google accounts
(WashingtonPost.com, 2012). Not having the right to choose what information is
shared between services has created a great deal of criticism.
Privacy concerns are also continuing to rise as Google
acquires more companies that rely on the information of consumers. Recently,
the company purchased Nest Labs and that has raised concerns among privacy
advocates. They “aren't keen on the idea of Google's
involvement with devices that already monitor our behavior and presence. The
Nest thermostat, for example, has a motion sensor, which activates the screen
and changes temperature settings when it registers a body walk past. Some are
worried about what Google could potentially do with that and other information
stored by Nest products” (Schuster, 2014).
Android apps have also raised privacy
concerns for smartphone and tablet users. According to a CBS News report, “if
you buy an Android app, Google sends personal information to the developer
without explicitly telling you” (Sherman, 2013). This raises the concern on
whether a user’s information is truly safe when downloading an app. Should
there be an opt-in and opt-out feature that will let the user decide whether or
not their information should be shared with developers?
The Android apps issue is only one of
several reported privacy violations by Google. Last year, Google admitted to
violating people’s privacy during its “Street View mapping project when it
casually scooped up passwords, e-mail and other personal information from
unsuspecting computer users” (Streitfeld, 2013). Google’s e-mail service,
Gmail, has come under fire for automatically scanning e-mails without users’
consent to filter spam and deliver targeted ads to its users (Musil, 2013).
Google has also been criticized for disclosing
too much information to governments too quickly and for not disclosing
information that governments need to enforce their laws. In 2010, Google
released details about how often countries around the world ask it to hand over
user data or to censor information (Shiels, 2010). David Drummond, Google’s
chief legal officer, says, “The vast majority of these requests are valid and
the information needed is for legitimate criminal investigations or for the
removal of child pornography” (Shiels, 2010).
Security Issues
Google has also been criticized for several issues with its
security. According to a recent USA Today report, there is a major security
flaw with Google’s Chrome browser. Researchers discovered that Chrome’s
“caching mechanism routinely stores names, e-mail addresses, street addresses,
phone numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers and credit card
numbers directly onto your hard drive in plain text—without knowledge or
consent” (Acohido, 2013). This data can be easily stolen through a computer
virus, which can put your personal information at risk.
There have also been reports of hackers obtaining the
passwords of Google account users. Two of Google’s top Chrome and Google Apps
security experts confessed that passwords will continue to be a problem for the
people who use them and computer security for the foreseeable future. Eran
Feigenbaum, the director of security for Google Apps, says, “You should turn on
two-step verification, make sure [the browser] is up to date, and make sure
your password recovery options are set” (Rosenblatt, 2013).
Should Users be
Concerned About Google’s Data Collection?
After looking at the ethical, privacy, and security issues
reported about Google, many people may wonder if their personal information
will really be safe when signing up for a Google account. While these are valid concerns, it is the
price people will have to pay in order to reap the benefits of Google’s mostly
free services.
According to a report from Guardian.com, “There is a powerful
reason why cloud services and other data-mining companies [like Google]
aggregate data across multiple accounts and services: the results are extremely
valuable. Just as tiny bits of colored tile can be combined and transformed
into a coherent piece of art, tiny bits of seemingly unrelated personal data,
when aggregated and mined at a huge scale, can provide immense value to
advertisers, marketers, corporate sales forces, and others. The revenue
generated by combining and monetizing such data – by mining the mosaic – is the
reason ‘free’ cloud services can afford to be free” (Cunningham, 2012).
If Google did not share some of the personal information of
its users to advertisers, then it would not be able to make money off of its AdWords
program, which is one of the major sources of the company’s income. Google
would then have to charge each user to use its services and they would no
longer be free.
If users want to protect their personal information, they
should make sure they regularly change their passwords, make their passwords
complex, and not share anything on their Google account that they do not want
exposed. When users sign up for an online service, they should expect that
their information is really not secret. Google CEO Eric Schmidt said, “If you
have something you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it
in the first place” (Lennard, 2013).
What do you think about Google’s data collection practices?
Is what they are doing necessary or have they gone too far?
References:
Acohido, B. (2013, October 10). Google Chrome’s cache
exposes personal data. Retrieved February 17, 2014 from http://www.usatoday.com/story/cybertruth/2013/10/10/google-chromes-cache-makes-data-easy-to-steal/2961739/
Cunningham, B. (2012, October 15). Google’s data mining
raises questions of national security. Retrieved February 17, 2014 from
theguardian.com.
Google.com. Company overview. Retrieved February 16, 2014
from http://www.google.com/intl/en/about/company/
Kessler, S. (2011, January 31). Google spent more on
lobbyists in 2010 than Yahoo, Facebook & Apple combined. Retrieved February
17, 2014 from http://mashable.com/2011/01/31/google-lobbyists-2010/
Lennard, N. (2013, June 11). The
dangerous ethics behind Google’s transparency claims. Retrieved February 17,
2014 from http://www.salon.com/2013/06/11/the_dangerous_ethics_behind_googles_transparency_claims/
Musil, S. (2013, August 13). Google filing says Gmail users
have no expectation of privacy. Retrieved February 16. 2014 from http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57598420-93/google-filing-says-gmail-users-have-no-expectation-of-privacy/
O’Dell, J. (2010, April 7). Google gets sued by
photographers over Google Books. Retrieved February 17, 2014 from http://mashable.com/2010/04/07/google-books-photographers/
Parr, B. (2010, April 7). FTC close to challenging Google’s
acquisition of AdMob. Retrieved February 17, 2014 from http://mashable.com/2010/04/07/ftc-google-admob-challenge/
Parr, B. (2010, September 3). Google settles Buzz privacy
lawsuit for $8.5 million. Retrieved February 17, 2014 from http://mashable.com/2010/09/03/google-buzz-lawsuit-settlement/
Rosenblatt, S. (2013, May 16). Google’s security: You
(still) are the weakest link. Retrieved February 17, 2014 from http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57584971-93/google-security-you-still-are-the-weakest-link/
Schuster, M. (2014, January 16). Google’s Nest buyout raises
privacy concerns. Retrieved February 16, 2014 from http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/01/16/google-acquires-nest-privacy/4518317/
Sherman, E. (2013, February 18). Google privacy issues in
forefront again. Retrieved February 16, 2014 from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/google-privacy-issues-in-forefront-again/
Sheils, M. (2010,
April 20). Google reveals government data requests and censorship. Retrieved
February 16, 2014 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8633642.stm
Streitfeld, D. (2013, March 12). Google concedes that
drive-by prying violated privacy. Retrieved February 17, 2014 from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/technology/google-pays-fine-over-street-view-privacy-breach.html?_r=0
WashingtonPost.com. (2012, January 25). Google privacy
policy is subject of backlash. Retrieved February 16, 2014 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/google-privacy-policy-is-subject-of-backlash/2012/01/25/gIQAzwZCRQ_story.html
No comments:
Post a Comment