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As I pointed out two months ago, this quote is taken out of context [1]. I'll reproduce the full quote here: Judgment matters... If you have something that yo

by tsally 17y ago

As I pointed out two months ago, this quote is taken out of context [1]. I'll reproduce the full quote here: Judgment matters... If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place... If you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines - including Google - do retain this information for some time and it's important, for example, that we are all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act and it is possible that all that information could be made available to the authorities. Schmidt simply suggested that if you have an extraordinarily high need for privacy you should not use Google. He's right and I agree with him. This is the CEO of a company reminding his consumers that Google has to conform to the PATRIOT Act. He's saying something that could potentially hurt his business by pointing out how your privacy is hurt because of the laws they have to comply to. Remember the attack on Google by China a few weeks back? Where the subject lines of the email of civil rights activists were compromised? This happened because of a mechanism Google was forced to put in place to conform to federal wiretap laws. Schmidt was spot on in what he said. We've got a strong enough case against Google without resorting to cheap tricks. What they've done with Buzz is unforgivable. I may well be migrating away from Google's services in the next week or two, depending on how this pans out. [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=984646 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=984646

josefresco 17y ago
Even taken in context that statement is still very scary. He's not saying you should use judgment on what search engine to use, he's saying you should use judgment on the action alone. The fact that he watered the statement down right after and then pulled the old "we're just following the law" doesn't make it any better.
- tsally 17y ago
  That's not what he's saying; he's saying the product of his company is not suitable for those with very high privacy requirements. Similarity, many commercial operating systems are not suitable for those with very high security requirements. But hell, he's a witch, so let's burn him! But seriously, this sort of a mob mentality is just as embarrassing as the mob mentality seen on the far right in the US. Whether you're a global warming denier or a privacy alarmist, you're still thinking irrationally. Don't mistake my position; my only contention here is that Schimdt's quote is taken out of context. It is poor evidence of Google's stance on privacy. Let's use strong evidence like the mishandling of Buzz to make our case against Google.

by tsally 17y ago

josefresco 17y ago

Even taken in context that statement is still very scary. He's not saying you should use judgment on what search engine to use, he's saying you should use judgment on the action alone. The fact that he watered the statement down right after and then pulled the old "we're just following the law" doesn't make it any better.

tsally 17y ago
That's not what he's saying; he's saying the product of his company is not suitable for those with very high privacy requirements. Similarity, many commercial operating systems are not suitable for those with very high security requirements. But hell, he's a witch, so let's burn him! But seriously, this sort of a mob mentality is just as embarrassing as the mob mentality seen on the far right in the US. Whether you're a global warming denier or a privacy alarmist, you're still thinking irrationally. Don't mistake my position; my only contention here is that Schimdt's quote is taken out of context. It is poor evidence of Google's stance on privacy. Let's use strong evidence like the mishandling of Buzz to make our case against Google.