Web users say Google should keep data private

A whopping 56% of people polled believe Google should not give the information to the government. 77% did not know that search engines collect private data like IP addresses which can be traced to individual computers.

Verne Kopytoff of the San Fran. Chronicle writes:

Most Internet users believe that Google Inc. should refuse the federal government's demands that it turn over search-engine data, and more than a quarter of them say they will stop using the Web site if the company complies with the order, according to a poll released today.

The poll, conducted over the weekend by the Ponemon Institute, a privacy research group in Elk Rapids, Mich., found that Internet users are highly concerned about personal search data getting into the hands of the government.

The results directly address the concerns Internet users have because of revelations that the federal government has subpoenaed Google for a list of millions of search queries entered by its users. Google has vowed to fight the order, which the government hopes to use to collect information to resuscitate a law to protect children from online pornography.

As part of the findings, 56 percent of respondents said they do not want Google to turn over any information to the government.

Who do you feel safer having your private information? Bush, or Google?

The entire article can be found here:
Most Web users say Google should keep data private

Technorati tags: Google, Bush, Privacy, Search, Federal