Google Refuses to Submit to DoJ Pressures to Release Search Data

InformationWeek | DoJ. Vs. Google | Protect Kids Or Kill Trust? | January 23, 2006: "Protect Kids Or Kill Trust?



By Thomas Claburn
InformationWeek

Jan 23, 2006 12:09 AM

The Justice Department is pressuring Google to turn over records on millions of searches to bolster a law it claims will help shield kids from Internet porn. Google is resisting on grounds the request would identify users, expose trade secrets, and impose an undue burden. Even if privacy isn't at risk, as Justice claims, Google recognizes that the request risks diminishing customer trust--and with that, market share.

Justice is out to prove the Child Online Protection Act, which requires sexually explicit sites to verify that visitors are of legal age, doesn't violate the Constitution. COPA was enacted in 1998 but suspended that same year after a suit by the American Civil Liberties Union."