10 ms·

Those are the type of things that I've searched for in the past. I just like knowing things.

ZeikJT 6y ago
I feel like I've searched for sketchy stuff before and it's almost always in response to something on twitter or reddit where someone claims something that feels ridiculous and so I go on google to see if it's legit or not.
behringer 6y ago
Call me crazy, but I think this is exactly how warrants should be done. Very specific in both time and place, and used to catch a criminal that did a very severe crime. If you had been caught up, you 100 percent should have been scrutinized. Imagine if it was someone you loved a witness to a terrible crime and her car was set on fire. You'd definitely want the police to prove who it was.
- SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
  I'd want worse than just having the police find the guy. That's one of the major purposes of having a centralized justice system; it protects society from our individual impulses that people who wrong us must be punished at any cost.
  - AftHurrahWinch 6y ago
    Great answer! This is what Dukakis should have said to Bush about Willie Horton.
- ksk 6y ago
  Google as a private corporation should not be collecting evidence for the police before a crime as occurred. Spying and surveillance of the general public should never be accepted as the norm.
  - behringer 6y ago
    But they do and we all know they do... By default we can see our own search history.
    - tpxl 6y ago
      You seeing your own search history does not imply google is able to see your search history. Especially if you don't use their browser.
      - behringer 6y ago
        I highly doubt the police could have traced this back to the criminal if he wasn't logged in and didn't use his normal IP, for example, if he had used in private browsing on a VPN it would have taken someone like the NSA to track him down.
        eneveu 6y ago
        I wonder what would happen if he searched those keywords in incognito mode. Google probably could link the incognito session with the real user session. But would it turn up in a search warrant ? In this case, they used the IP address, so I guess incognito wouldn't help.
    - ksk 6y ago
      Right, I'm suggesting that we generate push back as much as possible. One way to do that is to make future Google employees hesitate about supporting their unethical anti-privacy practices. Nerds have to stop giving Google a free pass.
jcims 6y ago
I went through a few years of studying basement synthesis techniques for high explosives, how to make initiators and boosters and how shaped charges worked. Add this to my ambient fascination with CNC milling, rocketry, robotics, long-range shooting, control theory, RF, etc. I'm surprised nobody ever did a 'wellness check'.
- AWildC182 6y ago
  Are....are you me?
- skinkestek 6y ago
  In my case that might be because I did my "research" during my teenage years in a real paper encyclopedia. That and my mums chemistry books. :-)
shadowgovt 6y ago
Which is fine. People who just like knowing things are extremely unlikely to have their cellphone location data correlate with the site of the arson at the time of the arson.
- loa_in_ 6y ago
  I'm now thankful my country doesn't have jury as a part of legal system, so this circumstancial evidence doesn't turn into plausibility lottery. Non-zero chances my unlucky location and something I searched for in past $number of years [gives me trouble] isn't something in my opinion acceptable. E: I accidentally missed a clause of my sentence
  - function_seven 6y ago
    As far as I know, you can request a trial without jury (decided by judge) in the U.S. Many defendants opt for this because they know they can't trust laypeople to see past sensational details and rule on the concrete facts and law. (Any lawyers know if there's a jurisdiction or circumstance that demands a jury?)
  - emodendroket 6y ago
    Judges are just as susceptible to biases as everyone else and are in some cases probably less charitable.
    - int_19h 6y ago
      Judges are better trained to know when their biases are, in fact, biases, and to set them aside as best as they can. Not all do that to the best of their ability, and there's residual bias even with those that do. But, statistically speaking, if you're facing charges in US, and you're innocent, it's better to go with a judge than with a jury. And conversely, if you actually did it, you have better chances convincing the jury that you didn't, or that you deserve a more lenient sentence.
      - emodendroket 6y ago
koheripbal 6y ago
...and alone, it's not a problem. BUT, if the police want to go after you for something else, they will use these searches to get a no-knock search warrant, and things can go very very sideways for you after that.
- bilbo0s 6y ago
  That's what I was thinking. The poster claims s/he just likes knowing things. OK, well, try to prove that in a court of law with the police on the other side.

I feel like I've searched for sketchy stuff before and it's almost always in response to something on twitter or reddit where someone claims something that feels ridiculous and so I go on google to see if it's legit or not.

behringer 6y ago

Call me crazy, but I think this is exactly how warrants should be done. Very specific in both time and place, and used to catch a criminal that did a very severe crime. If you had been caught up, you 100 percent should have been scrutinized. Imagine if it was someone you loved a witness to a terrible crime and her car was set on fire. You'd definitely want the police to prove who it was.

SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
I'd want worse than just having the police find the guy. That's one of the major purposes of having a centralized justice system; it protects society from our individual impulses that people who wrong us must be punished at any cost.
- AftHurrahWinch 6y ago
  Great answer! This is what Dukakis should have said to Bush about Willie Horton.
ksk 6y ago
Google as a private corporation should not be collecting evidence for the police before a crime as occurred. Spying and surveillance of the general public should never be accepted as the norm.
- behringer 6y ago
  But they do and we all know they do... By default we can see our own search history.
  - tpxl 6y ago
    You seeing your own search history does not imply google is able to see your search history. Especially if you don't use their browser.
    - behringer 6y ago
      I highly doubt the police could have traced this back to the criminal if he wasn't logged in and didn't use his normal IP, for example, if he had used in private browsing on a VPN it would have taken someone like the NSA to track him down.
      - eneveu 6y ago
        I wonder what would happen if he searched those keywords in incognito mode. Google probably could link the incognito session with the real user session. But would it turn up in a search warrant ? In this case, they used the IP address, so I guess incognito wouldn't help.
  - ksk 6y ago
    Right, I'm suggesting that we generate push back as much as possible. One way to do that is to make future Google employees hesitate about supporting their unethical anti-privacy practices. Nerds have to stop giving Google a free pass.

jcims 6y ago

I went through a few years of studying basement synthesis techniques for high explosives, how to make initiators and boosters and how shaped charges worked. Add this to my ambient fascination with CNC milling, rocketry, robotics, long-range shooting, control theory, RF, etc. I'm surprised nobody ever did a 'wellness check'.

AWildC182 6y ago
Are....are you me?
skinkestek 6y ago
In my case that might be because I did my "research" during my teenage years in a real paper encyclopedia. That and my mums chemistry books. :-)

shadowgovt 6y ago

Which is fine. People who just like knowing things are extremely unlikely to have their cellphone location data correlate with the site of the arson at the time of the arson.

loa_in_ 6y ago
I'm now thankful my country doesn't have jury as a part of legal system, so this circumstancial evidence doesn't turn into plausibility lottery. Non-zero chances my unlucky location and something I searched for in past $number of years [gives me trouble] isn't something in my opinion acceptable. E: I accidentally missed a clause of my sentence
- function_seven 6y ago
  As far as I know, you can request a trial without jury (decided by judge) in the U.S. Many defendants opt for this because they know they can't trust laypeople to see past sensational details and rule on the concrete facts and law. (Any lawyers know if there's a jurisdiction or circumstance that demands a jury?)
- emodendroket 6y ago
  Judges are just as susceptible to biases as everyone else and are in some cases probably less charitable.
  - int_19h 6y ago
    Judges are better trained to know when their biases are, in fact, biases, and to set them aside as best as they can. Not all do that to the best of their ability, and there's residual bias even with those that do. But, statistically speaking, if you're facing charges in US, and you're innocent, it's better to go with a judge than with a jury. And conversely, if you actually did it, you have better chances convincing the jury that you didn't, or that you deserve a more lenient sentence.
    - emodendroket 6y ago

koheripbal 6y ago

...and alone, it's not a problem. BUT, if the police want to go after you for something else, they will use these searches to get a no-knock search warrant, and things can go very very sideways for you after that.

bilbo0s 6y ago
That's what I was thinking. The poster claims s/he just likes knowing things. OK, well, try to prove that in a court of law with the police on the other side.