The following blog post is commentary on an article on Information Week titled "Google Privacy Change Provokes Outrage" by Thomas Claburn on January 25th, 2012.
Google’s new privacy policy is
provoking outrage across the world. They have recently combined all of their
privacy policies into one. All of their services – Google Plus, Gmail, Google
Maps, and over 60 other various services have combined their privacy policy.
So, what does this mean for users?
For one, it means that all of the information we give to Google – our searches
and the results we find from them, our friends, our location, and more are all
now integrated into the same system. Advertising has become far easier and
Google’s product (its users and their information) is much more valuable.
This also means that Google is at
an ethical crossroads. Information is harder for the end user to control and
there is no way to turn off Google’s constant mining of your information. Use a
Google product and they record exactly what you’re doing with it. They then use
that information to advertise to you.
It’s worth mentioning that Google
didn’t bring up the benefits they’re receiving from the privacy overhaul.
Instead, they masked their own benefits by telling users what they wanted to
hear: Google has a brand new privacy policy that is easy to read and understand
– and it covers all of the products we’ve come to love.
Ethically, the argument could be
made either way for or against Google’s new privacy policy.
From a Kantian view point (second
construct), Google is using its users as an end to a mean: use our product and
we’ll use your information. And so this new change is wrong. It is hard to
apply the first Kantian construct because not all companies are in a position
similar to Google’s and few companies have a similar business model.
From a Utilitarian view point (is
it for the greater good?), one would need to assign a value to users’ privacy
and determine how much of such value was lost. Then a value would need to be
given to the users benefit: advertising even more focused on their needs and an
easier to read and understand privacy policy. Few people even read the privacy
policies to begin with and so that value would likely be small. The problem
with using a Utilitarian viewpoint is that depending on who you are you may
assign different values to each factor.
So, what values would you assign?
Is what Google is doing right or wrong?
You can read Google's new privacy policy at http://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/preview/
I found it very interesting that they integrated all Google categories into one cyber privacy policy that basically keeps a close eye on each and every user that buys or uses its produce. In a way it is a smart tactic Google is using with this new policy, since they can now track your moves and interests, they advertize specifically to how and what information you look up. It does have a very ethical question in the mist of the settling walls of this policy. It seems to me like they are slowly closing in on the population as a whole and are trying to take away some rights that we have had for the time we have been on this planet. This does raise a flag of wondering if this has gone too far with us and I feel that it has, but not to the extent of a recall of policy. This is one of the closest policies I feel that has made me feel helpless on a Google product of hiding what I’m doing.
ReplyDeleteAs Billy said it is interesting how Google is now integrated all their independent applications into one Privacy Policy. I actual don’t remember there every being an issue on Google leaking out private information. One of the biggest problems with privacy policy is who reads them? You can make policies easier and more friendlier read and understand, but no matter how hard you fix, edit and even slip it in front of people’s faces less than on I think five percent will actually read it. I believe Google should keep each policy separate based on the application you are using instead of combining all into one.
ReplyDelete