Despites its detailed privacy policy and the many reminders to read and understand the same, users feel compelled to agree to any and every rule that they make so as not to be left out in the information revolution that the world seems to be warped by. This is extended to the extent of the sanctity of personal emails and even our home being challenged by Google products like Google Ads in Gmail and Street view on Google maps.
Privacy Law in many countries has had to become accustomed to changes in technology in order to undertake these issues and, to some point, maintain privacy rights. But the existing global privacy rights framework has also been censured as jumbled and unproductive.
The information that we put online has no privacy what so ever and I’ve known that just never paid mind to it. If Google has all the search engines we use throughout the years what privacy is there? What is the whole purpose of keeping track of the information or the stuff we search? I do believe that there should be more laws concerning our privacy but how private will we be able to get. I don’t think that we have full privacy rights. At some extend we always end up sharing our information, either via online, via phone or via mail. I don’t think that there is much that can be done to protect an individual’s
We are now living in a world where information about almost anything and everything is available at the click of a button and Google helps make it possible. While everyone loves Google it is important to not to stain that reputation and put any wrinkle on its merits. With the availability of information comes the risk of violation of privacy. Despite having good code of ethics and privacy, Google has been subject to criticism concerning the privacy of its users. Google as a search engine keeps track of its user’s search history and uses tracking cookies to collect enormous amounts of information - personal and general. Information collected through one simple search will not give
Though Google seemed to promote free-thinking and free speech on one hand, they were censoring and filtering with the other. Google lost credibility with the public, thus tarnishing its public image and “loosing 1% of the U.S. market in one month,” as reported in The Business. (2006, Aug) “Image credibility is based on the constituency’s perception of the organization” (Argenti, 2009, p.39). When the public image of a company has been compromised it “can make a huge difference in determining the success or failure of the organization” (Argenti, 2009, p. 40). When the public looses confidence in a company and what they stand for, they no longer wish to use its product. In response, executives at Google attempted to convince the public that they could handle the balancing act between censorship and providing information, and gain back public trust and confidence.
Nonetheless, the court sets the following conditions to be eligible for erasures of links between search engines and the source content: A web page has to be “inadequate, irrelevant, or no longer relevant, or excessive.” (CURIA, Google v. Spain, 2014) The court also makes data controllers accountable as to guarantee the balance between individual 's rights to privacy versus the public 's right to information.
The new GDPR updates and adds to the existing legislation, including in relation to the right to be forgotten. To begin, where Google was limited to the narrow circumstances concerning search engine results, the right under the new legislation ‘will be of significantly wider application, and will apply to all data controllers’ (Jay & Henderson 2016: 7). Moreover, the right has been strengthened in other areas, such as being exercisable on the basis of the withdrawal of consent, unlawfulness of the data processing, or where data is not necessary for the purpose for which it is held; ‘in these circumstances, the [right to be forgotten] is far stronger under the new regime as there is no balancing minimum and the [right] is absolute’ (2016:
Information privacy can be stated as a choice of an individual person to share his/her personal information with others and with advancements in technology, its becoming unmanageable to regulate it. Customers have chosen to trust many companies with their information in trade for the services they have to offer. Google also provides various services that store large amount of data about its users. Google’s first product was- the search engine where privacy issues began to surface as it caches a users previous search. Google states in its privacy policy, “We use cookies to improve the quality of our service by storing user preferences and tracking user trends, such as how people search.” These cookies were initially thought to be accessed by the websites only; however, with increased advertising they can be accessed by all those who want it. This does not comply with rights to information privacy by the users.
Google saves our time and energy, but people are becoming too dependent upon it. Google Maps, with more than ten million downloads, has become a necessity of life to some individuals. Without Google Maps, most drivers can not find their way around places. Due to the dependence on Google, many fail to recall how to read maps which is a significant skill needed to survive if something happens to technology. In addition, if Google were to shut down for a couple of days, fifty-six percent of businesses will suffer great losses. Businesses will not be able to function because of their dependence on Google’s software, such as Google Analytics. They will also lose communication with each other, having a major impact on America’s economy. Not only will businesses suffer, but people will too. Android and Chromebook users won’t be able to call, text, or browse since those devices are powered by Google. Some individuals will also lose their jobs as online-researchers due to the lack of connection to the resources they need. Many will argue there are other search engines out there that can be used. However, those engines do not provide quality material that are essential
Under the European union(EU) the right to be forgotten is a way for citizen to “delink” themselves from there history. For instance, if that citizen had a house foreclosed on or committed a minor crime. The citizen could ask that the information no longer link to their name in a search engine. The information would still be available on the original website.
How many individuals can honestly say that they have ever fully read the privacy policy of any technological tool? Not everyone does but should so that they are aware of what information is being collected and how that information is being stored. Most privacy policies are long and tedious and consumers usually just click the tab that says “I agree” so that they can continue on with their activities. According to Google’s privacy policy, an individual has to give their consent before Google will use information for anything other than what is stated in their privacy policy. It also states that they have the right to share your information with outside companies or organizations, if they feel the information is necessary because of any legal implications or to protect their rights and safety (Google Privacy Policy).
Following will be the analysis of the relationship between Google and our individual right to privacy. Google is constantly gathering personal information about people when they use various Google products. The extent Google is involved in our lives, as well as the methods used to gather data on individuals, is not known by most people. This report is going to take a brief look into whether Google’s practices are ethical as well as legal.
Even though there is no specific Article that directly concerns about a right to be forgotten in the existing Directive, the decision of the Google Spain and Google case had confirmed that citizens are able to exercise this right through Article 12(b) and Article 14(a) of the Directive. As mentioned earlier, the case was about Mr. González who wanted to remove his information from Google search engine results. In order to settle a dispute, the Spanish court referred some questions to the CJEU, which the existence of a right to be forgotten was also one of the questions.
Google: Most people have no clue as to the sheer scope and volume of data being collected. Mention you are having money problems in your Google mail account and you might get credit counseling ads. Visit medical site and you might start getting medical ads. All this information is available for sale. Where you shop, what you buy, everything you have ever written and perhaps read. This data can be used to extrapolate personal information you would never expose directly. I would never allow anyone to open my mail. Why is it legal for them to open my email.
Google is a huge multinational corporation that runs one of the most popular web services. Google’s Internet search engine allows users looking for the information online based on some keyword queries. Google also offers a variety of other services in web and telecommunication areas. People can use its offering to create blogs, websites, upload videos, create and share news items and many more. It suggests social networking tools, services for business, mobile services, and even Google branded goods. At the same time, it reportedly has some privacy issues. It collects personal data from all its users to generate targeted advertisements. However, experts suggest that these data are also used to profile people and spy on their personal lives. Therefore, the analysis of Google’s comprehensive services and operations allows stating that the company is one of the best ones. However, it is also one of the most secretive organizations in the world.