Oh, my!
Google sees privacy threats
By Eric Auchard
Wed Aug 9, 6:38 PM ET
SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - Web search leader Google Inc., which stores vast amounts of data on the Web surfing habits of its users, sees government intrusions rather than accidental public disclosures of data as the greatest threat to online privacy, its chief executive said on Wednesday. [...]
'Unless, of course, you're talking about the Chinese government, in which case we'd like to say they are fantabulous and kind and always smile broadly at us and have such lovely, thick black hair! Super-duper folks, those Chinese! No, what
we're talking about are the governments that don't require us to pay what amounts to huge bribes to operate in their countries. THOSE are the really dangerous ones, you know. Just can't trust them an INCH. Sure, the Chinese can look at anything they want, anytime they want, but they're not the least bit dangerous to us. Especially after we make sure nothing bad gets through. Nope--no Falun Gong for us! Strictly business, you know--we've got to be there when the masses of Chinese people want to use a search engine. I mean, they're gonna use SOMEthing, right? Why
not Google, we say! But AMERICA! Oooh, buddy--THERE'S your problem.'
Anyway, to paraphrase the old joke, we've determined what Google is (along with Yahoo! and Microsoft) , all we're doing now is negotiating the price.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at August 10, 2006 09:56 AM