Be Careful What You Ask For...

Looks like 2006 is the new 1984. The Justice Department is asking Google to turn over a long list of search requests and Web site addresses. Google is saying "no" and the two camps are meeting before a U.S. District Court Judge later today.

This is a touchy subject, as it boils down to a privacy issue. Sure, the great and powerful Net is a useful resource for finding almost any information you could possibly need. However, that's where the problem lies.

It breaks down into two very separate but equal issues: A) It's too easy to access. And in the wrong hands, it can be very dangerous. And B) The public has a right to ensure that their privacy rights are protected.

It's a very gray area, what the DoJ is asking for. Although they claim that they don't want any personal information right now (and I'm sure they don't), who's to say that this won't open the doors for them to come back later and ask for it then.

How much privacy can we expect from a wide open internet with no boundaries? How much government control is too much? Where is the line drawn? And who decides when that line can be broken?

Now, I'm a big advocate of Google and it's fellow search engines, and I'm all for being able to access all I can from them. But I can also relate to the fact that we didn't know the inherent dangers of a world-wide information platform until it was too late to regulate it. And trying to go back now to try to set up those check points is like trying to stop the flood with your hands.

Perhaps it may have worked 10 or 12 years ago, back when the Net was just starting up. But now, it's just too little, too late.

-Jos

"The Internet is so big, so powerful and pointless that for some people it is a complete substitute for life." ~Andrew Brown