Google Avoids Surrendering Search Info

Mercury News has details of a San Francisco judge's decision that Google should give the DoJ some details on its search engine, but is not required to turn over records to the government. From the article: "McElvain emphasized the study would be more meaningful if it included search requests processed by Google, which by some estimates fields nearly half of all online queries in the United States. Ware concurred with the Justice Department on that point, writing in his order that 'the government's study may be significantly hampered if it did not have access to some information from the most often used search engine.' But Ware said the government didn't clearly explain why it needed a list of search requests to conduct its study, prompting him to conclude the Web site addresses would be adequate." Reaction to the news is available on the Google Blog.

Re:Can't Troll the E-Water

[DavidHOzAu]

That also means that the judge is either human or must've had a bit of common sense. In other news, this unfortunate oversight on the part of the judicial system will no doubt soon be corrected.

DoJ Note to self.

[abhisri]

"In future if you need a list of website, it will be easier to code a webspider than going around suing search engines".

heh!

Awful just awful..

[t_allardyce]

Why does Google hate children? Its not just that, The DoJ is trying to protect everyone from pornography why would anyone want to stop them? People this is one of the most morally destabilizing sins since attacking Americans and we should be adopting the approaches used in the Middle East particularly: Monitoring of all internet access by faith-based guides, gouging of eyes, and strict dress codes that stop the urge in the first place. Google I hope you're happy for all the lives you've destroyed through facilitating this evil.

If google was smart...

[MMC Monster]

Instead of emailing the URLs requested by the DOJ, they would hand-write them on paper and send them by mail. Preferably hand-written by 50,000 different people, of course.

There is no reason to make this easy for the government.

Re:Awful just awful..

[tinkertim]

>> The DoJ is trying to protect everyone from pornography

That's not why we (the people) created the DOJ.

>> People this is one of the most morally destabilizing sins since attacking Americans

Child pornography has been around loooooooooong before that happened.

>> we should be adopting the approaches used in the Middle East particularly: Monitoring of all internet access by faith-based guides

Church and State separation prohibits that. In that other (ironically) faith based doctrine we call the Constitution. However that one is where we, the people put our faith in our government.

>> gouging of eyes, and strict dress codes

Jeb, is that you?

>> Google I hope you're happy for all the lives you've destroyed through facilitating this evil.

You have a (semi) valid point. Google does not facilitate it, humans do. Humans work at Google, and more of them (ought) to be seeing exactly what is in their index and what they make easy to find. So should every other SE on the Internet.

Our legal system permits the DOJ to subpoena *any* individual's records if they can show probable cause for use in any trial aiming to convict a sex offender, and Google has complied with such in the past. What the DOJ is doing is called "fishing" , and its illegal, unconstitutional and unethical.

>> Why does Google hate children?

Awww Jeb! It IS you!

Re:Study without having a reason?

[Anonymous Coward]

Look who our president is.

Anyone own a printing company?

[tinkertim]

When Desert Storm hit, Americans rallied and made Saddam toilet paper.

When 9/11 hit, we made Usama Bin Laden toilet paper.

Someone ought to make this document [google.com] into toilet paper, since its now officially useless otherwise :)

It's the American thing to do :) Coming soon to thinkgeek?

Re:Can't Troll the E-Water

[Anonymous Coward]

people saw what happened when cheney said "if your not a quail you have no reason to hide"

Here's an idea.

[ROBOKATZ]

The government should just send someone to sit in the lobby of Google where they show everyone's search requests on a giant ticker.

Re:What American has been incarcerated without tri

[qeveren]

"Deprived of comfort", is that the new military euphemism for "tortured"? I'm finding it hard to keep up, but then I've been lost ever since "collateral damage".

Google for it!

[Dougthebug]

Hey if the DoJ wanted to obtain information about google, why didn't they just google for it? This really should have been the response to the initial request.