A Surprise: Google Employees on Privacy
November 8, 2011
That Google lacks privacy protection should be news to no one. However, that a couple of its employees admit it is surprising. In his Slight Paranoia blog, Christopher Soghoian reports, “Two honest Google employees: our products don’t protect your privacy.” He opens,
Two senior Google employees recently acknowledged that the company’s products do not protect user privacy. This is quite a departure from the norm at Google, where statements about privacy are usually thick with propaganda, mistruths and often outright deception.
The first employee cited is Will DeVries, a privacy lobbyist for the company. In response to an article Soghoian wrote about the need for journalists to learn more about computer security, DeVries commented with wholehearted agreement. He added that journalists should take time to learn about and use free security measures. Soghoian extrapolates: if Google security were tight, wouldn’t DeVries specifically name Google products here? Perhaps, but this may be a bit of a stretch.
The next comment is more straightforward. In a conference in Kenya, Soghoian spoke on the same panel as Vint Cerf, Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist (that’s his real title.) In that discussion, Cerf agreed with Soghoian’s observation that securely encrypting user data fundamentally conflicts with the company’s ad-based business model. That is quite the admission, and confirms that Google is unlikely to put user privacy first anytime soon. Information or disinformation? We will be asking this question frequently in the run up to 2012.
Cynthia Murrell November 8, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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