SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Google Inc.'s legal showdown with the Bush administration over the right to protect the privacy of its audience and trade secrets appears to be tilting in the Internet search engine's favor, even though a federal judge has signaled he will order the company to turn over some records to the government.
U.S. District Court Judge James Ware repeatedly emphasized his sensitivity to Google's concerns during a Tuesday court hearing. It concluded with Ware saying he intends to give the U.S. Justice Department a peek at a sliver of the online search engine leader's vast database.
Just how much information Google will be required to share won't be known until Ware issues his written ruling, which he said he intends to do very quickly.
More. (NY Times, reg. required)
So, those of you who are afraid that "The Man" is watching you online....your fears are not baseless. But Google's not giving "him" carte blanche to scan your surfing habits. (I can see the protests now: "US Out of Google Data!")
Why does the Bush administration want this information? According to MarketingVox, "Citing privacy and trade-secret concerns, Google has been resisting a subpoena, via which the government is seeking data to help revive a child-protection law intended to make online pornography more difficult to access."
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