Judge to Order Google to Turn Over Records

Judge to Order Google to Turn Over Records

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A federal judge said Tuesday he intends to order Google Inc. to turn over some of its Internet records to the U.S. Justice Department, but expressed reservations about requiring the company to divulge some of its most sensitive data — the actual requests that people enter into its popular search engine.

U.S. District Judge James Ware told the Justice Department it can expect to get at least some of the information sought from Google as part of the Bush administration's effort to revive a law meant to shield children from online pornography.

But Ware stressed he was "particularly concerned" about the Justice Department's demand for a random sample of search requests entered into Google's Internet-leading search engine.

The judge said he didn't want to do anything to create the perception that Internet search engines and other large online databases could become tools for government surveillance. He seemed less concerned about requiring Google to supply the government with a random list of Web sites indexed by the company.

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Come on, folks!!!! I did a search on ATS for this article and came up dry... Where are you guys??? This is a big story!!!

You are right, this is very important.

I hope Google doesn't have to turn in any records.

Of course, I do not support child pornography, but any information given to the government at this time is an inroad to future censorship and control of the internet.

Information, and the access to and control of, is where true power lies. This power can either be in the hands of the people, as it is now, with a free and uncensored internet, or in the hands of Big Brother and by association, Big Business.

The government should not regulate the Internet.

The government should not determine what content is allowed and what content children are allowed access to.

Parents should be responsible for what their children do online, not the government.

child pornography, to me, just an excuse.