Building the Google Brand, Courtesy of DOJ
posted by Dan Filler
According to today’s New York Times, Google is resisting a Department of Justice subpoena seeking records on Google users’ search queries. Yahoo, AOL, and MSN previously complied with the government’s request for this data. I will leave the legal issues to Dan and other privacy experts, but my first response to this story was that Google’s legal posture is an awesome marketing move. Google’s aggressive efforts to protect search information convey a message to consumers that they are the “privacy protective” websearch brand. Even if Google is ultimately forced to produce this information, its decision to resist the subpoena signals that the company will be privacy protective in the future.
This may have a very positive marketing effect. Since all search engines are free, and since Google is at least as good a product as its competitors, I imagine many surfers will take the path of greatest privacy protection. Really, how many web users – no matter how benign their searches – would prefer to be monitored by the government? Of course, when it comes to the porn consumer – and by all accounts there are millions of them – it’s going to be Google or bust!
January 20, 2006 at 1:22 am
Posted in: Google & Search Engines, Privacy
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Responses (6)
A Stitch in Haste - January 20, 2006 at 8:26 am
Governmental Google Grab
Three hasty stitches regarding the Justice Department’s subpoena of Google’s search records:
–Google has not been accused of any crime what…
John Jenkins - January 20, 2006 at 9:26 am
*Google or bust*? GROAN…
As to privacy, isn’t this a lot like pen registers and, if not, why not?
Name - January 20, 2006 at 10:06 am
Don’t ya think this has a lot more to do with the expense of honoring the request than privacy?
Al Dillard - January 20, 2006 at 10:58 am
Google’s refusal could also backfire from a marketing perspective, especially in light of todays increasing post 9/11 paranoia. For example, an average potential seach engine user might contemplate the following: Google’s refusal to provide information increases the Government’s interest in monitoring the searches that occur on Google(based on the notion that a refusal occurs when someone has something to hide), and therefore it becomes more likely that when the DOJ does recieve the records (which in all likelihood they will eventually) they will be more closely scrutinized than the records of those search engines that did not put up any resistance.
Alex Geisinger - January 20, 2006 at 4:57 pm
Will Google now be considered a “liberal” web cite to be avoided by all those people who don’t question the government’s right to this or any other type of information? Maybe, but it seems their desire for privacy might trump their civic-mindedness–at least in some cases. (In keeping with the painful pun theme…I’ll flesh out the point later).
robhyndman.com - February 18, 2006 at 6:19 am
Google’s Marketing Move
Dan Filler at Concurring Opinions says what I only wondered about Google’s refusal to honour a subpoena for users’ search records. Perhaps Google is not evil after all.
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