The Google Subpoena

The Google Subpoena

Who, What, When, Where, How and Why are the questions to be answered when solving a crime. Who did it? When was it done? Where did the crime occur? How, by what means, was the crime accomplished. Why provides the motive for the crime’s commission. These are the questions answered by law enforcement for presentation to a jury. It is also the data collected by major search engine during their operation. It provides a fertile ground for data mining.

Google is the largest of the search engine providers today, and as the largest, they have a treasure trove of data collected from millions of internet users and billions of web pages, images, e-mail, documents, news postings, blogs and videos.

The recent Federal subpoena of Google is the first wave of judicial assault on this freely collected, and freely given content. The richness of the trove became too great for the bureaucrats to resist. The justification for the subpoena is a 1998 child pornography law. The subpoena was issued in the name of Alberto Gonzalez, United States Attorney General.

Following the logic that the eyes seek what the heart desires, the Justice Department seeks access to millions of records from the Google database.

Google made their money the old fashioned way, by earning it in the marketplace. They built a search engine using a branch of mathematics known as Graph Theory. Graph Theory draws connections between events, just like real world detectives do gathering evidence. Every search using Google records the IP address, the search terms input and potentially the identity of the user, in their database. Click through behavior is also logged since it is the basis of their advertising revenue stream. Many other connections can be drawn depending on the level of usage from many of their tools like Picasa for images, Blogger for web logging, and a network graph of associates via GMail.

This action was inevitable as the Federal leviathan cannot keep its’ hands off of private sector assets. They are drawn like the bee to honey. Google, with a market valuation of $118 billion dollars is an attractive pot full.

Google was not alone in this indictment. Yahoo, MSN and AOL were also subpoenaed, and complied without a fuss, as a matter of corporate policy. Google on the other hand is fighting back. They have resisted, citing protection of proprietary technology, in their response to the suit.

Google did not resist the subpoena based upon principle like the Freedom of Speech or Privacy Protection of their users. They do not deny that they are collecting this data.

This subpoena is trolling for evidence absent a crime. The Attorney General is sure that a crime is lurking within these search engine data mines. He just does not know what crime and by whom it was perpetrated
The days of anonymity on the Internet are over. This subpoena is the first shot over the bow of private enterprise that any and all information is available to the state. The Google model is “Don’t be evil.” They can demonstrate a principled adherence to this by vigorously resisting this egregious attack on First Amendment principles.

To find copious references just “Google” the keywords Google, subpoena, justice.