Government Issues Secret Order To Google Demanding They Track People Searching Specific Names, Addresses, And Phone Numbers
Michael Cantrell
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According to new reports, the federal government is allegedly issuing warrants in secret for Big Tech giant Google in order to get them to supply user data on anyone who is typing in specific search terms, which is now causing fears to spike concerning innocent online users getting caught up in some sort of high-level crime investigation at a greater rate than previously thought.
This is just pure insanity and a sickening invasion of privacy. The government is once again spying on its own people.
In an attempt to track down criminals, federal investigators have started using new “keyword warrants” and used them to ask Google to provide them information on anyone who searched a victim’s name or their address during a particular year, an accidentally unsealed court document thatForbes found shows.
Google has to respond to thousands of warrant orders each year, but the keyword warrants are a relatively new strategy used by the government and are controversial.
“Trawling through Google’s search history database enables police to identify people merely based on what they might have been thinking about, for whatever reason, at some point in the past,” Jennifer Granick, surveillance and cybersecurity counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, went on to tell the folks over at Forbes.
“This never-before-possible technique threatens First Amendment interests and will inevitably sweep up innocent people, especially if the keyword terms are not unique and the time frame not precise. To make matters worse, police are currently doing this in secret, which insulates the practice from public debate and regulation,” she went on to add.
The government said that the scope of the warrants is limited to avoid implicating innocent people who happen to search for certain terms, but it’s not publicly disclosed how many users’ data are sent to the government and what the extent of the warrant requests are.
Google went on to defend its decision to go along with the warrants, stating that it is actually protecting its users by doing so.
“As with all law enforcement requests, we have a rigorous process that is designed to protect the privacy of our users while supporting the important work of law enforcement,” a Google spokesperson responded.
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