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Brown and Google

Monday, 19th May 2008

Gordon Brown is speaking today at the Google Zeitgeist conference at The Grove. That’s The Grove as in the hotel described by Fabio Capello as being
"too swanky" for the England team:

An FA source said: "I think this will be the last time they stay at the Grove. They've been going there for a while, not least because it's favoured by David Beckham and a few others. But Capello thinks it's too grand, too luxurious. He'll be looking for somewhere a bit more modest.

It might be too blingy for the England team, but clearly that's not a worry for the leader of a party running a by-election campaign based on class prejudice. What a hypocrite that man is.

As for Google: there's clearly a natural synergy between a Prime Minister who wants every one of us to carry an ID card and a company which doesn't see why it shouldn't be free to invade our privacy as it sees fit. Google is being sued by a couple in the US for its Street View technology, which has taken a picture of their property and made it available for the rest of us to see:

A Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania couple has sued Google for invasion of privacy, accusing the world's largest search engine of photographing their swimming pool and posting it to the web.

Aaron and Christine Boring claim that in offering 360-degree panoramic pics of their private residence via Google Street View, the web giant has "caused them mental suffering and diminished the value of their property."...These pics were acquired, the suit says, when a Google vehicle appeared on their private road without a privacy waiver or other authorization. Claiming this private road is marked with a "Private Road" sign, the suit calls Google's behavior "an intentional and/or grossly reckless invasion of...seclusion." The Borings' lawyer calls it "outlandish."

This is of a piece with developments in Europe:

Google is hoping to avoid a fight with European privacy campaigners as it prepares to launch its controversial Street View service this side of the Atlantic later in the year, by introducing new technology that blurs the faces of people its cameras inadvertently snap while scanning the streets.

Street View, launched in the US last May, adds street-level pictures to the search engine's existing Google Maps' information. A fleet of vans fitted with cameras have been trawling the streets of more than 20 American cities, photographing the pavements to provide a complete visual map of the area.

But the cameras also take pictures of anyone who happens to be walking by at the time. While this has caused controversy among privacy campaigners in the US, it could result in serious legal problems in countries such as France with strict privacy laws.

Google has done a huge amount for which we should all be grateful. Its search engine is a wonder. But even here, the company behaves as if it is answerable to no one. Google believes that it should be able to hold all sorts of data on us for as long as it sees fit. Take cookies, which Google holds on to for 18 months, despite the EU recommendation being a maximum of 6 months.

This matters. Companies such as Google have the potential to do immense good. But just as we should fear governments which override our privacy and independence, so too we must hold companies which do the same to account.