untangling_the_web

DID: 4046925
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found was from publicly available sources only. While that is interesting and not
surprising, far more intriguing are the observations in the article about what she
could have found had the reporter had access to Google's databases.
"Assuming Schmidt uses his company's services, someone with access to
Google's databases could find out what he writes in his e-mails and to whom he
sends them, where he shops online or even what restaurants he's located via
online maps. Like so many other Google users, his virtual life has been
meticulously recorded.,,22o
It's not just Google, of course, that collects personal data from registered users.
Yahoo, Live Search, A9, and other search services offering registration, online
businesses, etc., also collect personal information when you register with them. But
Google has so much of the current market share they are the highest profile
company in terms of privacy concerns. "Kevin Bankston, staff attorney at the
Electronic Frontier Foundation, said Google is amassing data that could create some
of the most detailed individual profiles ever devised.,,221 How does this happen?
"As is typical for search engines, Google retains log files that record search terms
used, Web sites visited and the Internet Protocol address and browser type of
the computer for every single search conducted through its Web site. [comment:
this is true of any website you visit: any site can gather limited, non-personally
identifying information that is readily available from the browser.]
In addition, search engines are collecting personally identifiable information in
order to offer certain services. For instance, Gmail asks for name and e-mail
address. By comparison, Yahoo's registration also asks for address, phone
number, birth date, gender and occupation and may ask for home address and
Social Security number for financial services.,,222
The danger lies in the ability to put together all these pieces of data to create a
personal profile: "If search history, e-mail and registration information were
combined, a company could see intimate details about a person's health, sex life,
religion, financial status and buying preferences.,,223 Simply using Google or any
other search engine to search poses little privacy risk because of the sheer
volume of traffic at these sites and the lack of any personal data about the searcher.
The real privacy concerns arise when someone is a registered user at a site
such as Google, Yahoo, AOL, Live Search, or A9. In theory, the information
collected and stored about a user could enable someone to put together a
remarkably thorough profile of that individual user.
220 Mills.
221 Mills.
222 Mills.
223 Mills.
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