FIRST CASE | Is Google Watching You?

Source: "Is Google Watching You? in George W. Reynolds,Ethics in Information Technology, 3eed., Boston, Course Technology, Cengage Learning, 2010, p. 153-157.

In January 2009, a 9-year-old girl from Massachusetts was kidnapped by her grandmother. To find her, two local police officers called AT&T to get the GPS coordinates of the girl's cell phone. These coordinates allow the phone to be traced within a radius of 275 meters (900 feet). However, the two police officers encountered an obstacle: the coordinates indicated that the child was in Virginia. They couldn't drive there and look around. They then entered the coordinates into Google Maps and used Google's Street View service. Street View offers a 360- degree panoramic view of any location (on streets where Google has previously sent a vehicle with a camera). As expected, the police noticed the long red roof of a building that looked like a hotel. Still using Street View, they zoomed in until they could read street names. They then found the address of the hotel still using Google and called the Virginia State Police. Thirty minutes later, the girl was released. Journalists praised the ingenuity of the police and the technology of Google. However, Google Street is not for everyone. In 2008, a Pennsylvania couple sued Google for posting photos of their home. They claimed that Google had violated their privacy and reduced the value of the property they had purchased because it was impossible to see it from the street. The couple claimed Google's Street View vehicle entered their private driveway to take the photos. Google argued that Street View provides owners and anyone else who wants an easy way to ask Google to remove photos from its app. Google added this photo removal feature in the Help function for a good reason. In 2007, Following its launch, users combed through the mapping software and discovered several inappropriate photos, including a photo of a woman in her underwear. Google removed these photos once informed of their existence. In 2009, a United States Justice of the Peace denied the couple's request. Some Street View critics also claimed that pedophiles could use the app to find schools, parks and homes where children live and play. Its advocates have countered that pedophiles can get this information from many other sources.

Street View is one of many apps offered by Google. Founded in 1998, Google generates over $21.8 billion in revenue after just 10 years and operates the world's most widely used search engine. Almost all of its revenue comes from its online advertising system embedded in the free products and services offered to Google end users. Google offers free e-mail, web page creation and publishing, blogging, Internet mail, web photo album, online calendars, video sharing, document sharing and many other products . Google also provides web page translation services and search engines for scientific articles, patents, financial news, movies, programming codes and a wealth of specialized information. Its mapping tools include Google Earth which allows users to view satellite photos taken from different places on earth and Google Sky which allows users to view the stars. In light of this wide range of innovative offerings, it's no surprise that Google raises so many privacy concerns. The main concern is the multitude of personal information that Google collects using a user's login information. To be authorized to use Google products, users must provide an email address or in the case of email service, first and last name to creat a Google account. They must also agree to each product's terms of service, which allow Google to collect and store user information in its database. Subsequently, Google records the user's actions: the words he enters into the search engine, the sites he visits as well as the date and time of these actions. Google uses this information to tailor advertising to user needs and preferences. Thus, Google can target its customers' advertisements to a specific demographic group (age, location, profession, hobby) of the population. For example, if a user enters the search term "brakes", Google may show ads from repair shops in the user's region. Although Google collects search information for advertising purposes, it also stores this information in a Google database. Google may target its customers' advertisements to a specific demographic (age, location, occupation, hobby) of the population. For example, if a user enters the search term "brakes", Google may show ads from repair shops in the user's region. Although Google collects search information for advertising purposes, it also stores this information in a Google database. Google may target its customers' advertisements to a specific demographic (age, location, occupation, hobby) of the population. For example, if a user enters the search term "brakes", Google may show ads from repair shops in the user's region. Although Google collects search information for advertising purposes, it also stores this information in a Google database. To be able to extract historical data about the user or to obtain information about his identity before the connection, Google placed cookies on the user's computer. On several occasions, complaints have been brought against Google because it was the first company to extend the expiration of its long-term cookies. With the expiration date then set for 2038, Google hoped to monitor its users' preferences over the long term. Privacy advocates sharply criticized this decision; Google has therefore decided to set its cookies to automatically expire after two years. This concession seemed acceptable until it was realized that each time a user visited a Google site, the cookie renewed for another two years. Google's defenders pointed out that users could delete the cookie at any time, either manually or automatically when they shut down their browser. TheGoogle critics have countered that many users are unaware of this feature. The protests flared up again when Google launched Chrome, its new web browser. When a user searches on Google, the company usually collects the user's IP address, cookie identifier and search term. Chrome allows Google to store the search term and alphanumeric combination entered in the address bar, where users typically enter the URL address of the website they want to visit. Chrome stores this information when the user types the URL address and presses the Enter key. Some privacy advocates were outraged, others pointed out that Chrome had an incognito mode. This feature allows the user to search the web without the web pages and downloaded files being stored in the download and browsing history. Although this feature protects the personal information of others who may use the user's computer, it does not prevent Google from storing this information in its database. There are also concerns that Google may disclose the information it collects to other sources. Some critics worry about what could happen if the government had access to Google's database. Would this mark our entry into a totalitarian era where Big Brother (the government) observes and controls every move of citizens? In fact, in 2005, the Department of Justice (DOJ) attempted to gain access to two months of data from Google as part of its fight against child pornography on the Internet. Unlike other Internet service providers who cooperated with the federal government, Google refused. She argued first that she had made a commitment to her users not to disclose their personal information and that if she agreed to provide the requested data, she would undermine their trust. Second, Google claimed that disclosing this information would force it to disclose trade secrets about its search technology. Finally, Google questioned whether the DOJ's request was justifiable under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. In March 2006, the judge ruled strongly in Google's favor by allowing the DOJ access to portions of Google's site index without granting it access to search criteria data. Google claimed that disclosing this information would force it to disclose trade secrets about its search technology. Finally, Google questioned whether the DOJ's request was justifiable under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. In March 2006, the judge ruled strongly in Google's favor by allowing the DOJ access to portions of Google's site index without granting it access to search criteria data. Google claimed that disclosing this information would force it to disclose trade secrets about its search technology. Finally, Google questioned whether the DOJ's request was justifiable under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. In March 2006, the judge ruled strongly in Google's favor by allowing the DOJ access to portions of Google's site index without granting it access to search criteria data. Other privacy concerns arise from the malfunctioning of Google's applications. For example, on February 24, 2009, a marketing agency reported a bug related to the Google Docs document sharing application. When an agency employee tried to share a specific document with a person, the app didn't just share the document with that person, it shared the document with everyone who had ever shared documents with them. that person. A serious breach of confidentiality stemmed from this event. Google has sent a warning notice to users affected by the

bug and fixed it. But tech journalists saw the incident as a monumental privacy blunder. There's no doubt that Google and its glut of apps raise privacy issues. Some people believe that compared to other companies, Google and its motto "First, do no harm" does well when it comes to privacy. However, it is important that everyone agrees that users need to be better informed about the products and services they use in order to protect their personal information. Issue 1 Privacy laws vary widely from country to country. a) According to Tremblay's article, "Cross-border data flows and privacy protection: a difficult conjunction , in which country do the laws relating to the protection of privacy apply when, as a Canadian, you use the services of the company Google, which stores your data in the United States? Explain why. Issue 2 The case study demonstrates that services offered by Google pose privacy risks of three types: to individuals, to businesses, and to the state. a) Describe these three different risks by demonstrating how privacy is threatened using the examples from the case study and the articles being studied this week. b) Google Street View was investigated by Jennifer Stoddart, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada between 2003 and 2013. an internet search and summarize the criticisms leveled at Google Street View, then the conclusions of the investigation. Also make links with Tremblay's article, "Cross-border data flows and privacy protection: a difficult conjunction ".

Issue 3 Google's protection of users' privacy has also been questioned with regard to the "right to be forgotten". a) Using Strowel's article "The right to be forgotten: badly named, badly defined, but welcome - About the Google judgment of the Court of Justice and Polidori The google spain judgment of the CJEU of May 13, 2014 and the right to be forgotten , and while taking into account the case study presented, summarize what the right to be forgotten consists of for Google and the repercussions for its users. b) Bruhn's article "Does a murderer deserve the right to be forgotten? deals with the debate of the right to be forgotten vis--vis the publication of names of former murderers. What would be your position in this debate?

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