Google “don’t be evil”
This is Google’s motto “Don’t be evil” however more and more it seems to be applicable to you and not to Google. The latest news is that the Street-view vehicles are also registering WLAN’s and MAC addresses while mapping your neighbourhood. Big issue in Germany (here’s a German article from newspaper ‘Der Spiegel’) where this was discovered.
Now the most appalling and worrying is that Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently said internet users shouldn’t worry about privacy unless they have something to hide. Right. “Don’t be evil” also includes to not collect data that could facilitate any evil.
April 24th, 2010 at 1:48
There are odd comments at times. The infamous remark by Eric Schmidt got him -rightfully- a ton of flack. On the other hand, Google did pull out of China, and not just because they got professionally attacked. Sergei Brin who’s familiar with totalitarianism appears to have drawn the line, preferring loosing a potentially large market to tolerating censorship and a too loose definition of human rights. Maybe Google is just so big that one hand doesn’t know what the other does? Which however still doesn’t answer the original question – why would Google want MAC addresses of WiFi’s? I can’t figure that out… but I sure don’t like it.
April 26th, 2010 at 7:06
When they have your MAC-address including the geographical location of the MAC-address they can serve ads more effectively. When you search for “brownies” you will get the ad from your local pastry store
Maybe you don’t care but advertisers will. If Google can sell localized ads they will attract way more (but smaller) advertisers…
Maybe they will offer their geographic information as a service to third parties as well…
I sure don’t like Google recording this kind of information… All recorded information is accessible to governments when they see fit. It only takes one lousy court-order or legislation to get their filthy hands on any source of information.
I don’t trust Google –however I do believe my information is safer with them against accidental disclosure than with any other clumsy incompetent company– but I sure don’t trust governments. Some information should just not be “recorded” in the first place.
April 27th, 2010 at 13:22
Well, I for one hail our new Corporate Overlords!