A common perception is that Google is a search engine and ad-word company. In truth, Google is a data collection company. Google offers a wide variety of services, software products, and tools that enable the company to collect massive amounts of data from individuals and companies including, internet traffic, usage and search patterns, and trends. Some of Google’s top offerings are: its search engine, AdWords, YouTube, Google+, Gmail, Google Glass, Google Docs, Android (mobile operating system), and Google Analytics.
The massive amount of data and information Google collects and stores raises ethical, privacy and security concerns.
In the discussion that follows, this paper delves into some of the ethical, privacy, and security issues that have arisen around Google and highlights a few companies that provide an alternative to Google’s services.
Ethics
In 2012, an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) found Google’s Street View Project had been collecting personal data from individuals without their permission. The investigation disclosed that the Google vehicles that were sent through towns and neighborhoods collected personal information such as e-mail addresses and passwords by tapping all the Wi-Fi networks the vehicles came across (Johnston, 2012).
The FCC report noted that the Google engineer that designed the software program to collect the data “knowingly created software that would collect sensitive personal information about people without their knowledge” (Kang, 2012).
This project did not impact just one person, neighborhood, or town. Rather, the scale of this personal and unethical intrusion was massive. According to the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) “As of 2012, investigations have gone forward in at least 12 countries, and at least 9 countries have found Google guilty of violating their laws for its unethical information gathering practice during the Street View Project” (n.d.).
While the 2012 FCC report did not find Google guilty of any crimes 38 states and Washington D.C. combined to file a lawsuit against Google for its unethical information gathering practice during the Street View Project, in what was dubbed the “Wi-Spy” scandal. In 2013, Google settled the lawsuit by paying a total of $7 million to the states and Washington D.C. As part of the settlement, Google was also required to destroy the personal data it collected during the Street View Project (Gustin, 2013).
Privacy
Many of Google’s products and services also raise privacy concerns, most notably, its search engine, Gmail, and Google Glass. In 2012, Google changed its privacy policy, basically stating that information and data are collected and shared across all Google products and services. This announcement was tied directly to the launch of Google’s new “personalized search;” the company’s revision to its search engine, which was designed to provide more personalized search results. A person’s Goggle search query is now tied to the information they provided or how they use other Google products and services. This leads to the question of whether individuals want Google to have access to that much personal information (Ingram, 2012). People enter incredibly personal information into a search engine. For example, when someone feels sick or unhealthy they may conduct a search describing their symptoms; what if the search results disclose that the symptoms are indicative of a sexually transmitted disease or mental issues? How is that information used by Google, and with whom is Google sharing such sensitive and personal information?
Gmail is another source of privacy concerns. Google’s stated policy is: “Gmail users do not and never should have an expectation of privacy” (Wood, 2013). Therefore, under Google’s stated policy, any images, any video, or any information written and sent via Gmail can potentially be read and seen by others.
Finally, Google Glass raises another level of privacy concerns as the device has a video record function. This means that when someone is wearing Google Glass they can video record anything they are viewing. This raises the concern of people being recorded without their knowledge or willingness to be recorded. Members of Congress sent a letter to Google expressing alarm over this issue (Covert and Pepitone, 2013). It remains to be seen how that issue will be resolved, if at all. The other privacy concern is whether Google has access to the Google Glass video footage? What does the company do with the video footage that is recorded on Google Glass?
Security
Google has what can be considered a treasure-trove of valuable data which can cause people or organizations to attempt to access and steal the data for nefarious purposes. Google products and services could also pose security risks to companies and organizations that use the services or allow employees to store sensitive company data on Google devices.
For example, people have historically been concerned with the privacy issues associated with mobile devices that run on the Android operating system, but companies are beginning to focus on the security implications of employees bringing devices into the workplace and storing company sensitive information; potentially making the data vulnerable (Gonsavles, 2012). Also, Google products like its cloud-based Google Docs give companies pause as they can be susceptible to hacking attempts from malicious entities and individuals, that if successful, could result in valuable company information being stolen (Brodkin, 2010).
Alternatives
There is a burgeoning anti-Google movement. People are increasingly seeking alternatives to Google’s services. DuckDuckGo is a search engine that is looking to capitalize and appeal to people concerned about the privacy and unethical use of their search queries. DuckDuckGo asserts that users’ search queries are kept private and no data is collected or stored (Lee, 2014).
To demonstrate this point, the company uses two interesting examples, found here http://donttrack.us/. The examples are if a user searches something like herpes or bankruptcy, both of which are highly personal and sensitive. This example highlights the fact the information could be sold to advertisers and 3rd parties or given to unwanted entities; both having potentially detrimental results (DuckDuckgo, n.d.).
For companies that are concerned about privacy and unwanted use of its web traffic data, Piwik offers an alternative to Google Analytics. Piwik claims that a company using the service keeps its own data and Piwik does not have access to it when using Piwik’s web analytics tool (Piwik, n.d.). Piwik has had some success capitalizing on this movement as it is used by over 480,000 websites (Qayyum, 2013).
Conclusion
Google continues to be a source of privacy, ethical and security concerns. Google’s recent acquisition of Nest, maker of internet connected thermostats, caused a stir among privacy advocates. As explained above, Google already collects an incredible amount of online data, and now it is reaching into collecting information on peoples’ energy usages (Crum, 2014).
In the digital era, companies like Google will collect more personal data about us than we may be comfortable with. The history of loose ethics and low privacy standards is cause for concern. The National Security Agency (NSA) is under immense scrutiny for its recent privacy intrusions and oversteps. Perhaps Google should be similarly scrutinized (Newman, 2013).
References:
Brodkin, J. (Jul. 29, 2010). Google Apps intrigues IT pros, but security worries remain. Network World. Retrieved from: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/072910-google-apps.html
Covert, A. and Pepitone, J. (May 17, 2013). Google says you'll know when Glass is sketchy. CNN. Retrieved from: http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/17/technology/innovation/google-glass-privacy/index.html
Crum, R. (Jan. 13, 2014). Google raises some privacy issues with Nest buy. Market Watch. Retrieved from: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/google-raises-some-privacy-issues-with-nest-buy-2014-01-13
DuckDuckGo. (n.d.). Don’t Track Us. Retrieved from: http://donttrack.us/
Electronic Privacy Information Center. (n.d). Investigations of Google Street View. Retrieved from: http://epic.org/privacy/streetview/
Gonsalves, A. (Jun. 29, 2012). Google Now draws caution among security experts. CSO Online. Retrieved from: http://www.csoonline.com/article/709578/google-now-draws-caution-among-security-experts
Gustin, S. (Mar. 13, 2013). Did Google Get Off Easy With $7 Million ‘Wi-Spy’ Settlement?. Time. Retrieved from: http://business.time.com/2013/03/13/did-google-get-off-easy-with-7-million-wi-spy-settlement/
Ingram, M. (Jan. 25, 2012). Should Google’s New Privacy Policy Concern You?. Businessweek. Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/should-googles-new-privacy-policy-concern-you-01252012.html#p1
Johnston, C. (May 6, 2012). Leave only footprints: how Google’s ethical ignorance gets it in trouble. Ars Technica. Retrieved from: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/05/googles-street-view-engineer-knew-data-collection-was-questionable/
Kang, C. (Apr. 29, 2012). Google engineer told officials Street View cars were collecting personal data, FCC report says. Washington Post. Retrieved from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-tech/post/google-engineer-told-officials-street-view-cars-were-collecting-personal-data-fcc-report/2012/04/29/gIQAPLtkpT_blog.html
Lee, J (Jan. 13, 2014). DuckDuckGo Celebrates 1 Billion Searches in 2013. Search Engine Watch. Retrieved from: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2322643/DuckDuckGo-Celebrates-1-Billion-Searches-in-2013
Newman, N. (Jul. 1, 2013). Why Google's Spying on User Data Is Worse than the NSA's. Huffington Post. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-newman/why-googles-spying-on-use_b_3530296.html
Piwik. (n.d.). Piwik – User Guide. Retrieved from: http://piwik.org/docs
Qayyum, A. (Sep. 2013). Google analytics vs Piwik: the ultimate comparison. Smashing Hub. Retrieved from: http://smashinghub.com/google-analytics-vs-piwik-the-ultimate-comparison.htm
Wood, M. (Aug. 13, 2013). Gmail: You weren't really expecting privacy, were you?. C|net. Retrieved from: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31322_3-57598424-256/gmail-you-werent-really-expecting-privacy-were-you/
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